Current Problems:
Exploring Theme: "Climate Change"
Updates on this page: 54
(Filtered by Indigenous Group "First Nations")
November 1, 2024
Canada needs urgent action on health and climate change: Lancet report
NationTalk: In the latest report on Canada for the Lancet’s Countdown on health and climate change, authors call for urgent investment, increased infrastructure and additional personnel to meet current and future climate adaptation needs. Since 2015, the federal government has spent $6.6 billion on 70 climate change adaptation Opens in a new window actions. The report...
September 8, 2024
Warmer temperatures have put chinook salmon — and a way of life — in grave danger
But a fishing moratorium imposed by Canada and Alaska is netting small gains What On Earth – 25:29 Ghosts in their fishing nets (an Overheated story) Click own the following link to listen to “What on earth” and watch all the videos in this article on CBC: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whatonearth/overheated-chinook-salmon-1.7313494?cmp=newsletter_Evening%20Headlines%20from%20CBC%20News_1617_1709106 CBC News: At the home James MacDonald...
August 1, 2024
Water is Sacred conference discusses growing concerns with the water crisis in Canada
The event is being held on Kátł’odeeche First Nation until Saturday CBC Indigenous: The Water is Sacred conference is being held until Saturday on the Kátł’odeeche First Nation at the Chief Lamalice Complex, bringing together a diverse group of Indigenous leaders, environmental advocates, environmental experts and concerned citizens to address the growing water crisis in Canada. The...
July 20, 2024
Evacuation order issued for Little Red River Cree Nation due to encroaching wildfire
Wildfire smoke blankets parts of northern Alberta, Rocky Mountain region Wildfire smoke spreads as Alberta community evacuates, again: 8 hours ago, Duration 2:00 High temperatures and forecasted winds are spreading wildfires in northern Alberta, forcing the Little Red River Cree Nation to once again evacuate their community. CBC News: A large, growing wildfire in northern Alberta instigated...
July 17, 2024
First Nation in B.C. issues new wildfire evacuation orders
More than a dozen new fires have started across the province in the last 24 hours CBC News: The Cook’s Ferry Indian Band, north of Spences Bridge in the B.C. Interior, has issued an updated evacuation order for several reserves due to a pair of out-of-control fires. The band first issued an order Tuesday, which applied to Reserve 6 due...
July 16, 2024
First Nations across Canada join Chiefs of Ontario in challenging carbon pricing inequities
NationTalk: Toronto, ON – First Nations from across Canada are standing with the Chiefs of Ontario, passing a resolution calling on the Government of Canada to stop its discriminatory treatment of First Nations from this government’s carbon pricing regime. The resolution was passed at the 45th Assembly of First Nation’s (AFN) Annual General Assembly and comes...
July 8, 2024
‘Nobody has these stories’: Canada’s longest river at record low levels
The bank of the Mackenzie River is seen in Inuvik, N.W.T., on July 3, 2023. File photo by The Canadian Press/Emily Blake Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: Canada’s longest river is at historically low levels, stranding communities that rely on it for essential goods and alarming First Nations along its banks who have never known...
July 3, 2024
As Canada braces for a raging summer, Indigenous communities remain displaced
Indigenous land is disproportionately affected by wildfire and their isolated nature makes aid access difficult Genelle Levy in High Level The Guardian: When Robert Laboucan pictured his son taking his first steps he imagined it would be at home, maybe even in front of a camera in their living room. Instead, the one-year-old first walked...
June 10, 2024
Climate disaster survivors call for cuts to fossil fuel emissions
Survivors and activists urge the federal government to cap oil and gas emissions. Darryl Tedjuk came to Ottawa from Tuktoyaktuk to call for a cap on oil and gas emissions. In his lifetime he has seen parts of his community wash away. Photo: Kerry Slack/APTN APTN News: Residents of Tuktoyaktuk, an Inuvialuit hamlet of about...
June 8, 2024
B.C. looks into post-fire mushroom picking rush after First Nation reports conflicts
B.C. is not ruling out regulating wild mushroom picking after an Indigenous community said the areas devastated by the Lower East Adams Lake and Bush Creek wildfires last year are now sprouting large numbers of morel mushrooms, and attracting a large number of foragers. DARRYL DYCK/THE CANADIAN PRESS PUBLISHED YESTERDAY, UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO The Globe and...
May 15, 2024
This First Nation in B.C. was ordered to leave in 2023 due to fires. 1 year later, it’s happened again
Doig River First Nation, northeast of Fort St. John, remains on evacuation order on Tuesday Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News · Posted: May 14, 2024 9:54 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 15 CBC Indigenous: Members of the Doig River First Nation remain out of their homes Tuesday due to a wildfire — almost one year after another nearby wildfire forced...
April 23, 2024
Flood victims in Hay River, N.W.T. still looking for help rebuilding
APTN News: In a crawlspace under her home, Karen Felker points to beams that move when the ground thaws. The damage was caused by last year’s flood. This spring marks the second anniversary of the historic flooding of Hay River in the Northwest Territories and the road to recovery is still ongoing. “The contractors were...
April 10, 2024
Pay now or pay more later to prepare First Nations for climate emergencies
Cindy Woodhouse, the Assembly of First Nations’ national chief, at her swearing-in ceremony in December. Photo by Matteo Cimellaro / Canada’s National Observer Canada’s National Observer: The price of doing nothing to adapt First Nation infrastructure to climate change will result in high costs for recovery, losses and redevelopment, according to an Assembly of First...
February 29, 2024
Detection of Blastomyces DNA in Constance Lake First Nation Homelands Announced as a Significant Breakthrough
NationalTalk: CONSTANCE LAKE, ON – A significant scientific breakthrough has been made as Constance Lake First Nation (CLFN) continues to grapple with serious impacts from a blastomycosis outbreak in the absence of thorough environmental research and financial resources to navigate its complexity. Community driven efforts have led to the laboratory-confirmed detection of Blastomyces species in...
February 22, 2024
Update on flooding at Ch’ëdähdëk Forty Mile Historic Site: Damage assessed and Request for Proposals issued for long-term conservation plan
This is a joint release with Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in. NationTalk: In May of 2023, an ice jam formed at the confluence of the Forty mile and Yukon rivers 88 km downriver from Dawson City, resulting in extensive ice and water damage to the co-managed Ch’ëdähdëk (Forty Mile) Historic Site, one of the eight component sites that...
February 7, 2024
4 First Nations in Manitoba declare state of emergency because of winter road issues
APTN News: Four First Nations in remote northern Manitoba are declaring a state of emergency because of the quick deterioration of their winter road network. Also known as ice roads, they’re the only way in or out of the communities by land and are necessary for delivering essential goods – but the unseasonably warm weather...
January 26, 2024
Western Arctic community say lives impacted by delay in opening of ice road
Climate scientists show the Arctic is one of the fastest warming areas on Earth. APTN News: Community members in Aklavik are pointing to the effects on climate change for the delays in building an ice road that is critical to their daily lives in the winter. “It’s a tough thing to try and predict because...
January 11, 2024
These Ontarians rely on roads made of snow and ice. But what happens when winter is too warm?
Higher than normal winter temperatures are sparking concern among remote First Nations communities in northern Ontario that rely on winter roads made of ice and snow to transport food, fuel and building supplies. Toronto Star: OTTAWA — Higher than normal winter temperatures are sparking concern among remote First Nations communities in northern Ontario that rely...
November 30, 2023
Chiefs of Ontario ask for judicial review of carbon price regime
APTN News: First Nations leaders in Ontario say Canada needs to fix what they call a “discriminatory” carbon price system, arguing the federal government failed to address their repeated concerns and blocked their exemption request only to then issue a carveout targeting Atlantic Canada. A group representing 133 First Nations in the province filed an...
October 23, 2023
Kwanlin Dün First Nation reacts to UN report on climate funding
‘They say, First Nations are going to help lead us … But do they put that into their practice?’ CBC Indigenous: The chief of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation in Yukon says he’s not surprised by the findings in a recent report from the United Nations. The UN’s Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples found that...
October 20, 2023
Ford government scuttles First Nations’ conservation plans
The Hudson Bay Lowlands are home to the second-largest peatlands complex on the planet. Photo submitted by The Water Brothers / Wildlands League Canada’s National Observer – The peatlands that wrap around Hudson Bay and James Bay are at risk from a warming climate and development. Now members of some First Nations who have lived...
October 18, 2023
Climate change solutions need to keep Indigenous knowledge at centre of approach
“It all comes down to resources…Resources are very important to be able to do what we need to do to work together.” —interim National Chief Joanna Bernard AFN Quebec-Labrador Regional Chief Ghislain Picard Windspeaker.com:The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has released its National Climate Strategy and is calling on all levels of government to “make...
October 12, 2023
Climate change threatens winter roads connecting northern Ontario’s remote communities
Warmth, temperature volatility cutting First Nations off from provincial road network CBC Indigenous: For many northern Ontario First Nations, apart from air travel, the only connection to the rest of the province is seasonal winter roads built each year on the frozen rivers, lakes, muskeg and earth. As climate change continues to narrow the window during which...
September 6, 2023
First Nations people say devastation from B.C. wildfires threatens cultural identity
Fires affecting access to traditional foods, medicines CBC News: Most of Mike McKenzie’s summers were spent hunting moose and deer out of his family’s camp near his community of Skeetchestn, near Kamloops, B.C. But it’s been a long time since McKenzie has done this. “It’s too dangerous,” said McKenzie, about record-breaking heat and longer, more intense fire seasons. ...
August 1, 2023
NDP calls for emergency preparedness funding for First Nation communities
APTN News: The NDP is calling on the federal government to urgently invest into more emergency preparedness in First Nations communities. Last week, Nunavut MP Lori Idlout and Manitoba MP Niki Ashton sent a letter to Minister of Indigenous Services, Patty Hajdu, outlining First Nation’s urgent need for funding of emergency preparedness resources amidst the...
July 19, 2023
Canadian wildfires hit Indigenous communities hard, threatening their land and culture
NationTalk: Associated Press – EAST PRAIRIE METIS SETTLEMENT, Alberta (AP) — Carrol Johnston counted her blessings as she stood on the barren site where her home was destroyed by a fast-moving wildfire that forced her to flee her northern Alberta community two months ago. Her family escaped unharmed, though her beloved cat, Missy, didn’t make...
July 14, 2023
Wildfires are disproportionately harming Indigenous communities
CTV News: Canadian wildfires are disproportionately affecting Indigenous people at a greater rate than non-Indigenous Canadians, a recent report finds. The audit published in June by Indigenous Services Canada and authored by a Metis fire researcher, found that in the past 13 years, Indigenous communities had more than 1,300 wildfire-related emergencies leading to more than...
June 26, 2023
Feds underfunding emergency preparation in First Nations communities says report
Emergency management monitoring is lacking, says the Auditor General in a new report APTN News: A parliamentary committee says Indigenous Services Canada is failing to provide First Nations communities with adequate resources for emergency management to help mitigate the impacts of events like wildfires and floods. The standing committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs released...
June 23, 2023
Quebec wildfires: Cree community orders evacuation of 4K due to heavy smoke
By The Canadian Press | APTN National NewsJun 23, 2023 Almost 4,000 people fleeing nearby wildlife. Since the beginning of June, firefighters have been battling a record number of wildfires including this one outside Algonquins of Barriere Lake. Photo courtesy: Charlie Papatie A Cree community in northern Quebec was being evacuated Friday because of heavy smoke from a...
June 20, 2023
On energy transition, Canada should take a matriarchal approach
Indigenous women and knowledge are crucial to the new energy landscape This Opinion piece is by Raylene Whitford and Annmarie Garby, who serve on an Indigenous advisory council for Energy Futures Lab. For more information about CBC’s Opinion section, please see the FAQ. CBC News: The current movement for businesses to embrace sustainability and shrink their carbon footprints...
June 14, 2023
During the worst wildfire season this century, Indigenous communities need to consider their participation in resource extraction: says researcher
37 per cent of the total burned forest area in Western Canada and the United States between 1986 and 2021 can be traced back to 88 major fossil fuel producers and cement manufacturers. ‘These fires are a culmination of ongoing resource extraction projects’ says climate researcher APTN News: In light of increasing extreme weather and...
June 8, 2023
Wildfire season highlights the need for more emergency resources in remote Indigenous communities
You can’t be depending on people out there to defend your community’ says Athabasca Fort Chipewyan chief APTN News: A wildfire 10 km outside Fort Chipewyan in northern Alberta has slowed but authorities say the problems are a lack of rain in the forecast and the weather is hot and windy. The closest community to...
June 6, 2023
Algonquins of Barriere Lake members evacuated from territory as Quebec wildfires burn
‘It’s just a scary time for our community,’ says Chief Casey Ratt CBC News: As wildfires continue to blaze in several regions of Quebec, members of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake are on the frontline protecting their territory. “It’s devastating at the moment because we don’t know which way the fire will go today because of...
June 6, 2023
Spring wildfires costing Indigenous services ‘millions’ says minister
APTN News: The minister responsible for Indigenous services says her department is spending millions of dollars to support First Nations dealing with the early wildfire season. “The forecast doesn’t look good, it’s all across the country and the scientists are predicting severe wildfire risk for the months of June, July and August,” said Hajdu. According...
June 1, 2023
The Hamlet of Fort Chipewyan evacuates due to wildfires
By Danielle ParadisJun 01, 2023 Reports of looting in the area are not confirmed by RCMP Nearly a 1,000 people in the community of Fort Chipewyan located 300 km north of Fort McMurray were ordered to leave their homes this week ahead of approaching wildfires. The remote location of Fort Chipewyan in Alberta is complicating the...
March 21, 2023
Why BC Needs a Climate Fund for First Nations
COP27 created a global loss and damages fund. David Eby’s government should do the same. The Tyee: COP27 ended in November with a historic agreement to establish a “loss and damages” fund to address the impacts of climate change on the most vulnerable nations. Given the disasters B.C. has faced over the last couple of years, is...
March 20, 2023
Committee grills minister on failure to support First Nations during climate emergencies
‘The government should be ashamed,’ says NDP MP Blake Desjarlais as committee examines audit CBC News: Members of Parliament accused Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu of ducking accountability on Monday after the auditor general criticized her department’s ongoing failure to help First Nations deal with climate emergencies. Hajdu began the week flanked by her top...
January 25, 2023
Caribou summit asks a burning question: What’s the future of the Porcupine herd?
The Porcupine is ‘one of the biggest herds in the world.’ Will it stay that way? CBC News: The Porcupine caribou is one of the few barren-ground herds in the circumpolar world that remains strong and healthy — and the communities who rely on it want to make sure it stays that way. This was...
January 17, 2023
Open Letter to Prime Minister Trudeau on Perpetuating Climate Injustice Against First Nations
NationTalk: Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, Canada bears responsibility for the climate crisis that is driving humans to the precipice of a global catastrophe. While the Government of Canada has begun to acknowledge this crisis and has enacted some measures to try to help pull humanity back from the edge, two major problems characterize government action....
December 13, 2022
Indigenous Peoples have been the most effective stewards of animals and nature since time immemorial
Canada’s National Observer: About a million animal and plant species around the globe are on the verge of extinction — more than ever before in human history. As the world gathers in Montreal for COP15 (the UN biodiversity conference) to negotiate a deal to halt and reverse nature loss in the coming decade, calls to put Indigenous...
December 2, 2022
Government of Canada invests $3.8 million to support barren-ground caribou conservation in the Northwest Territories
Environment and Climate Change Canada: Caribou is an iconic species for Canadians and plays an important role in the culture and history of Indigenous peoples. The Government of Canada is determined to halt and reverse Canada’s biodiversity loss, and the decline of this species, by working in collaboration with the provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous...
November 23, 2022
Carbon trading: A tool for reconciliation or colonization?
NationTalk: Canada’s National Observer: Eriel Tchekwie Deranger’s home community of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation is in what she calls a “sacrifice zone.” The nation borders the oil production epicentre of Canada: the oilsands, which leak toxic chemicals and wreak havoc on local ecosystems. The same is true for many nations within Treaty 8 territory, which covers northern Alberta....
November 21, 2022
World leaders must come out of their bubbles and hear other voices — especially Indigenous women — in climate-change debates
Indigenous people have unique relationships with their environment. If they listened, leaders would hear us urging a just transition away from fossil fuels. Toronto Star: World leaders making decisions around climate change must consider ideas originating beyond their own bubbles — especially those proffered by Indigenous people — if the problem is to be tackled...
October 13, 2022
‘Salmon are the heartbeat of our coast, our people, everything around us’
Coastal First Nations Community Storyteller Emilee Gilpin in conversation with Haíɫzaqv cultural leader and conservation manager Dúqva̓ísḷa, William Housty on Oct 11, 2022. Audio clips of the interview are included throughout the story. NationTalk: A shocking video of over 65,000 dead pink and chum salmon in Heiltsuk territory spread across social media last week and...
October 4, 2022
Put out wildfires before they begin with Indigenous fire stewardship
The Keremeos Creek wildfire southwest of Penticton, British Columbia on July 31, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Don Denton Canadian governments need to better engage with Indigenous fire stewardship to counter increased wildfire occurrence and severity Policy Options: by James Michael Collie, Hannah Verrips After the Keremeos Creek wildfire swept through the southern Interior of British Columbia in August,...
April 9, 2022
UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change includes the word “colonialism” for the first time
Toronto Star: Earlier this week, the world’s top scientists not only mentioned colonialism as a catalyst for causing climate change but also for making segments of the population vulnerable to its impacts today and in the future. “Present development challenges causing high vulnerability are influenced by historical and ongoing patterns of inequity such as colonialism,...
March 26, 2021
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
The AFN, based on direction from the Chiefs-in-Assembly, intervened in this case, as well as court cases in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta, arguing the Government of Canada has a direct legal obligation to recognize Aboriginal and Treaty rights in any legislative efforts to address climate change....
March 25, 2021
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
Westaway Law Group – The majority judges noted that climate change “has had particularly serious effects on Indigenous peoples, threatening the ability of Indigenous communities in Canada to sustain themselves and maintain their traditional ways of life.” [para 11] They also acknowledged that, “the effects of climate change are and will continue to be experienced...
March 25, 2021
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
Supreme Court finds that the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act 2018 is constitutional....
November 18, 2020
Climate Crisis and First Nations Right to Food
The Narwhal – Human Rights Watch released “My Fear is Losing Everything: Climate Crisis and First Nations’ Right to Food in Canada“. The report details how longer and more intense forest fire seasons, permafrost degradation, volatile weather patterns and increased levels of precipitation are all affecting wildlife habitat and, in turn, harvesting efforts. The report...
October 20, 2020
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
Toronto Star – The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) reserved judgement on whether the federal government’s Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act 2018 (GGPPA) is constitutional following hearings on September 22 and 23 with the United Chiefs and Councils of Mnidoo Mnising (UCCMM), along with the Anishinabek Nation (AN), granted intervener status. The GGPPA sets minimum...
July 15, 2020
Bill 17 Clean Energy Act ignores First Nations
The amendment of Bill 17, proposed in June, raises alarming concerns that the NDP government has no intention of honouring the principles of the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), despite proclaiming it to be a cornerstone of its mandate. Many of the UNDRIP principles speak to the importance of consent...
September 27, 2019
Cree Nation imput into climate change policy
Cree Nation Government – Proposed government action must be inclusive of Cree observations and efforts in the fight against climate change. Our privileged relationship with the territory is fundamental to the proper and meaningful development of government policies on climate change for Eeyou Istchee. Government policies must take into account the experiences of Indigenous communities...
November 3, 2017
Canadian Council of Ministers of the Envronment must include Indigenous views
Assembly of First Nations – First Nations must be full participants in all meetings of Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) to ensure their voices are heard in environmental and climate change solutions. “Reconciliation has to include respect for our Elder’s traditional knowledge and our understanding of the lands and waters, the animals...
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