Current Problems: Government Commitments to Truth and Reconciliation
Exploring Theme: "Treaty Relationships and Indigenous Rights"
Updates on this page: 50
(Filtered by Stakeholder "Canada")
October 15, 2024
PAGC Calls for Urgent Action During Ottawa Visit
NationTalk: Ottawa, ON – From Oct. 7 to 11, Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) leadership, along with Chiefs from its member nations, travelled to Ottawa to demand immediate federal action on critical issues affecting First Nations in northern Saskatchewan. The delegation met with key federal officials, including Conservative MP Jamie Schmale, deputy chair of the...
September 30, 2024
Over 30 years of Indigenous resistance with Mohawk land defender Ellen Gabriel
‘Colonial-rooted poverty will not be solved by more colonial solutions’ Ellen Gabriel speaks during a march on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Montreal, Saturday, September 30, 2023. Graham Hughes / The Canadian Press The Narwhal: Thirty-four years ago, Katsi’tsakwas Ellen Gabriel was thrust into the spotlight when she was chosen as the spokesperson for...
August 26, 2024
BC Illegally Collected Personal Info Tied to the Wet’suwet’en Conflict
A Tyee exclusive: Coastal GasLink intel was shared with the Indigenous Relations Ministry during high-stakes talks. The Tyee: B.C. says it violated its own privacy laws when it gathered personal information from Coastal GasLink about “various individuals” involved in a high-profile conflict over the controversial pipeline project. . The province did not say how Coastal GasLink...
July 11, 2024
Some First Nations leaders turn their backs on Pierre Poilievre
APTN News: As Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre began to speak to the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in Montreal Thursday one delegate stood and turned his back to him. The delegate stood alone for a few minutes before another joined him. Then six more. In total, seven veterans and one leader in the two-spirit community all looked...
June 21, 2024
Justin Trudeau’s government is losing its momentum on Indigenous reconciliation, leaders say — and they’re worried a Conservative government could be worse
Nine years after Justin Trudeau came to power campaigning on a new relationship with Indigenous people, Indigenous leaders say his government’s once considerable rate of progress is slowing — and they are worried about that momentum reversing if the Conservatives topple the Liberals in the next election. The Toronto Star: OTTAWA — Nine years after Justin...
June 14, 2024
Concerns about assertion of Métis rights on the BC coast discussed at fisheries forum
Concerns were raised during the Nuu-chah-nulth Council of Ha’wiih Forum on Fisheries about the presence of Métis organizations amid efforts to protect the West Coast. Council of Ha’wiih Chair Wickaninnish, Cliff Atleo, speaks at the meeting in Port Alberni June 5. (Eric Plummer photo) First Peoples Law Report: Ha-Shilth-Sa – Port Alberni, BC – Concerns...
June 13, 2024
Both Innu Nation, NunatuKavut Community Council claim victory after Federal Court decision
APTN News: The Canadian Press – A Federal Court judge has dismissed a bid by Labrador’s Innu Nation to throw out an agreement involving the NunatuKavut Community Council, but both groups claim the ruling is a win. The case involved the NunatuKavut Community Council, formerly the Labrador Métis Nation and the Labrador Métis Association, represents...
June 6, 2024
First Nation in N.W.T. facing retaliation complaint at human rights tribunal
APTN News: Salt River First Nation in the Northwest Territories is facing allegations that it retaliated against two of its members after they filed a human rights complaint against the band. According to records at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, Christopher Coyne and Penny Way originally filed the complaint against Salt River, or SRFN, because...
June 1, 2024
Inuit seek ‘fisheries reconciliation’ after federal court strikes down ministerial decision
APTN News: The Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) says it plans to push for “fisheries reconciliation” after a federal court judge ordered a judicial review of a decision by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to transfer fishing licences off the coast of Nunavut to a non-Inuit company. DFO’s decision came after a Jan. 26,...
May 23, 2024
Rights and Remedies at the Supreme Court: Case Comment on Shot Both Sides v. Canada
FIRST PEOPLES LAW REPORT, MAY 23, 2024 The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Shot Both Sides marks the end of a decades-long effort on the part of the Blood Tribe to address Canada’s failure to fulfil its outstanding obligation to provide lands as promised under Treaty 7. The decision raises troubling questions about when and under...
May 23, 2024
‘One of the biggest mistakes of his political career’: New book details what happened when Pierre Poilievre crossed Stephen Harper
Harper feared a revolt in his caucus when he decided to go ahead with compensation for residential school survivors, new book reveals. Toronto Star: OTTAWA — Stephen Harper feared a revolt in his Conservative caucus when, as prime minister, he decided to go ahead with compensation for residential school survivors, a newly published book reveals....
May 9, 2024
Northern affairs minister says Métis Nation of Ontario has work to do in proving legitimacy
APTN News: Canada’s minister of Northern affairs says the Métis Nation of Ontario has some challenges ahead in proving its legitimacy to other Indigenous organizations. “The Ontario Métis have more work to do,” said Dan Vandal. “They need to sit down with First Nations and other Métis affiliates from across Canada and have these important...
April 15, 2024
Wolastoqey Nation brings the issue of criminalization of Indigenous Peoples to the United Nations
APTN News: Hundreds of delegates from around the world converged on United Nations headquarters in New York for the opening of meetings to discuss Indigenous issues. That includes representatives of the Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick who said the criminalization of Indigenous Peoples in Canada and around the world must be addressed. “One of the...
March 21, 2024
Innu Nation disputes Canada’s recognition of NunatuKavut in Federal Court
Innu elder vows to fight as Labrador Indigenous identity court hearing concludes CBC Indigenous: Outside a downtown Ottawa courtroom on Wednesday, Elder Elizabeth (Tshaukuesh) Penashue speaks slowly but passionately in the language of her Innu ancestors. Inside, lawyers for the Innu Nation of Labrador were making their case against federal recognition of a group they say is...
March 9, 2024
Brian Mulroney’s complicated relationship with Indigenous peoples in Canada
From laying the foundations of Nunavut to the Oka crisis, the former PM’s legacy was one of contradictions CBC News: The late Brian Mulroney’s legacy with Indigenous peoples in Canada is marked by its contradictions — failures remembered for their good intentions, successes accompanied by catastrophic disappointments. The former prime minister is praised by some Indigenous leaders for creating a...
March 1, 2024
Brian Mulroney held the line on settler colonialism: activist
‘They basically threw our rights out the window’ says activist and artist Ellen Gabriel remembering Brian Mulroney’s complex legacy APTN News: Brian Mulroney is being remembered by some in the Indigenous community as a polarizing figure during his time in office, with his decisions and actions continuing to shape the country to this day. Mulroney...
February 29, 2024
Why Did Trans Mountain Dig Through an Indigenous Burial Site?
The company’s plan was to ‘micro-tunnel’ in Secwépemc territory — but that fell through. An explainer. The Tyee: Trans Mountain says it is in the process of wrapping up work to install its pipeline through a sacred Secwépemc site, bringing its expansion project one step closer to completion. The new collaborative work from Debra Sparrow...
February 28, 2024
Algonquins of Ontario organization removes nearly 2,000 members after ancestry disputes
AOO ‘reorganization is possible’ but not confirmed, Pikwakanagan chief says CBC Indigenous: The Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) has removed nearly 2,000 people from its certified electorate after an internal tribunal ruled against their asserted Algonquin ancestry last year. This follows years of controversy and internal protests, which flared in 2021 after CBC News reported a suspicious letter — on...
February 27, 2024
History of Canada’s largest national park reveals exclusion of First Nations people and injustice
“Wood Buffalo National Park was the heart of the Dene homelands, and when it was removed, Dene people suffered.” —from the book Remembering Our Relations: Dënesųłıné Oral Histories of Wood Buffalo National Park Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation with the cover of the book Remembering Our Relations: Dënesųłıné Oral Histories of...
February 15, 2024
What does the duty to consult First Nations, Inuit and Métis mean?
And why some advocates say Canada needs to move from consultation to consent CBC Indigenous: You’ve probably heard the phrase duty to consult, or failure to consult, when it comes to governments and their relationships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis. But what does it actually mean? Stemming from three Supreme Court of Canada decisions in 2004...
February 14, 2024
First Nations, Jim Balsillie slam government over lack of consultation on AI bill
The Globe and Mail: The Canadian Press, OTTAWA – The Assembly of First Nations is warning it could take the Liberal government to court over its proposed privacy and artificial intelligence bill. And former tech executive Jim Balsillie told MPs studying the bill that he considers the legislation “anti-democratic.” The government has already been criticized...
January 18, 2024
Chrétien-era effort to soften UN’s Indigenous language a ‘stain’ on Canada: Hajdu
‘Indigenous, First Nations people deserve so much more than that,’ says Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu. Photo: APTN. APTN News: The Canadian Press – The current federal Liberal government tried to distance itself Tuesday from the Jean Chrétien-led one that reportedly conspired with Australia to weaken United Nations language on Indigenous Peoples in the early...
January 15, 2024
Feds approve $2B loan guarantee to help TMX over finish line
Photo by Jesse Winter / Canada’s National Observer Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: The federal government has issued yet another taxpayer-backed loan guarantee — this time for up to $2 billion — to help get the massively over-budget Trans Mountain pipeline expansion over the finish line. TMX is about 97 per cent complete, but the...
January 1, 2024
Consulting Indigenous communities on critical minerals is key to net zero ambitions
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 31, 2023 UPDATED JANUARY 1, 2024 The Globe and Mail: Two years ago, First Nations leaders made clear what Canada must take to heart if it wants to be a global player in critical minerals and the energy transition: The only road to net zero runs through Indigenous lands. That is, any efforts to develop...
December 13, 2023
Chiefs say pan-Indigenous approach leaves Ottawa taking too much away from First Nations
“I don’t think we should be buying into this Indigenous label that they’re trying to homogenize all of our rights into a common group. I think in the long run, we will be short changed.” —Chief R. Donald Maracle Chief R. Donald Maracle of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte at the Assembly of...
November 30, 2023
Minister blames ‘misconceptions’ for concerns over Métis self-government bill
Assembly of First Nations latest to express concerns about Bill C-53 CBC Indigenous: The backlash against the Trudeau government’s proposed Métis self-government legislation is “largely based on misconceptions,” the minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations said Thursday, as he appeared unmoved by a recent call for its withdrawal. “This is an opportunity to set right a long-standing wrong, when...
November 6, 2023
Inuit leader warns of Labrador group’s ‘illegitimate claims’ to Inuit identity
In open letter, Natan Obed urges action against ‘perverse form of colonial racism’ CBC Indigenous: The head of the national organization for Inuit in Canada is warning the public about what he calls “illegitimate claims to Inuit rights” being advanced by a self-identified Indigenous group in south and central Labrador. Ahead of International Inuit Day...
October 23, 2023
Canada using ‘outdated’ treaty to do end run around Indigenous rights in U.S.: court documents
This 2016 photo shows an aboveground section of Enbridge’s Line 5 at the pump station in Mackinaw City, Mich. Photo by: The Canadian Press/AP/John Flesher Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: The Canadian Press – WASHINGTON — The federal government and Enbridge Inc. are trying to exploit a “dormant” and outdated treaty with the United States...
October 20, 2023
Innu Nation pulling out of N.L. premier’s Indigenous roundtable
Innu leaders say premier is not fairly addressing the concerns surrounding NCC NationTalk: CBC News: The Innu Nation says it has notified Premier Andrew Furey that all Innu leaders in Labrador have withdrawn from his Indigenous roundtable. In a press release issued Friday afternoon, the Innu Nation expressed dissatisfaction with the way the provincial government is handling concerns over...
October 19, 2023
Allegations of Indigenous identity fraud could affect lawsuit by Native Council of Nova Scotia
Members of the NCNS are suing the provincial government for $40 million over moose hunting rights. A recent report alleging that the Native Council of Nova Scotia has members in its ranks who are not Mi’kmaw could have an effect on a class action lawsuit filed by members of the organization. The council, also known as the...
October 12, 2023
A need for action on reconciliation
NationTalk: Winnipeg Free Press – Each year, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation prompts us to take stock of the progress we are making, as a country, on the journey towards reconciliation. Often this progress — or the lack of it — is measured by counting how many of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s...
October 2, 2023
We do not want pity, we want parity
Toronto Star: The most important table for talking about reconciliation is the kitchen table. This is the third National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — our annual day as Canadians and Indigenous Peoples to acknowledge what we all inherited and the actions needed to assure the relationship gets stronger. In the spring of 2021, the...
September 29, 2023
Aboriginal Rights as a Tool of Colonialism: Part Four: First Peoples Law report
This week I’m sharing my thoughts on how Aboriginal rights have become a tool of colonialism and why. I’ve posted an essay each day leading up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This is the final installment of the four-part essay which can be found on our website here.I hope you enjoy reading it.Best,Bruce Aboriginal Rights as a...
September 20, 2023
The Canadian Parliament must Reject Bill C-53 of the Trudeau Government
NationTalk: WENDAKE, QC – The AFNQL denounces the self-proclaimed “Métis” groups and the federal government’s intention to recognize to grant them rights. Only the First Nations are holders of Aboriginal rights and titles. The AFNQL strongly supports the resolution adopted during the AFN Annual General Assembly that was held last week in Halifax, under the...
September 11, 2023
RCMP Spent Record Amount to Protect CGL Pipeline Last Year
Tyee exclusive: The force spent $11 million to patrol a remote road in Wet’suwet’en territory. Amanda Follett Hosgood is The Tyee’s northern B.C. reporter. She lives in Wet’suwet’en territory. Find her on Twitter @amandajfollett. The Tyee: The RCMP’s costs for patrolling a remote resource road on Wet’suwet’en territory to protect a pipeline project rose almost 60...
September 8, 2023
Marc Miller touts progress on reconciliation, has harsh words for Poilievre
Miller reflects on leaving Indigenous portfolios after 5 years Warning: This story contains language that some readers might find offensive CBC News: Marc Miller — who held two Indigenous affairs cabinet portfolios before he was shuffled over the summer — says he believes the Liberal government has made substantial and “irreversible” progress on reconciliation, despite what he described...
August 21, 2023
Algonquin members organize in fight for identity, land and nationhood
‘We’re all starting to feel considerably more threats,’ says professor Veldon Coburn CBC News: It’s almost like a game of colonial whack-a-mole. Everywhere Algonquin Nation members look these days, it seems a new problem pops up. If it isn’t declining moose stocks, it’s a proposed radioactive dump on unceded land, and if it isn’t a controversial Ontario land claim or...
June 12, 2023
First Nations, federalism and lessons from the fight against COVID-19
To be ready for future challenges, we need to build a path forward that brings First Nations into the heart of Canadian federalism NationTalk: Policy Options – The fight against COVID-19 in First Nations communities had many successes. Vaccination rates were high – nearly 93 per cent of individuals aged 12+ years received a second dose and...
June 10, 2023
Long lineups for treaty annuities at The Forks spark discussion about ‘insulting’ $5 payment
Working group calls for modernization of payments through land-based model CBC news: Dozens of First Nations people braced long lineups and a humidex of 30 on Thursday afternoon to get their treaty annuity payments at The Forks in Winnipeg, leading to conversation on whether the $5 payments are outdated. The federal government doles out the $5...
May 8, 2023
To achieve reconciliation, Canada needs to recognize the Métis as a self-governing nation
The Globe and Mail: OPINION: MARGARET FROH AND AUDREY POITRAS Margaret Froh is the president of the Métis Nation of Ontario. Audrey Poitras is the president of the Métis Nation of Alberta. The Métis story is one of resistance and resilience. In recent years, we have been writing a new chapter to our story with Canada based...
April 20, 2023
Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief carries strong message to United Nations on behalf of E’Dbendaagzijig
NationTalk: NEW YORK, NY (April 20, 2023) — Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Reg Niganobe joined an international delegation including representatives from the Bay Mills Indian Community, Center for International Environmental Law, EarthRights International, and Environmental Defence Canada this week at the 22nd United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) carrying a strong message to...
April 11, 2023
Western premiers blast Lametti for suggesting Ottawa might ‘look at’ provinces’ power over natural resources
Lametti told an AFN meeting he would examine calls to rescind Natural Resources Transfer Act CBC News: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and three western premiers are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to disassociate his government from comments made by his justice minister — who promised last week to “look at” a decades-old law that...
January 27, 2023
SCO Urges Prime Minister to Include First Nations Leaders in Health Meeting
NationTalk: ANISHINAABE AND DAKOTA TERRITORY, MB — Today, the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) is calling on Prime Minister Trudeau and the Government of Canada to ensure that First Nations leaders are included in health discussions on February 7, 2023. “Health care systems are in crisis. They are not meeting the needs of First Nations people, and...
January 12, 2023
Rights group releases scathing report on Canada’s violations of Indigenous rights
NationTalk: CTV News, NEW YORK — A prominent human-rights group says Canada is failing to address long-standing abuses, delivering a rebuke of what it calls the federal government’s inadequate climate policy and violations of the rights of Indigenous people and immigration detainees. Human Rights Watch says more than two dozen First Nations remain under long-term drinking...
July 13, 2022
Federal government is failing First Nation fishers, Senate Committee on Fishing and Oceans finds: REBUTTAL
NationTalk: HALIFAX, NS – The Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance (UFCA) is voicing its grave dissatisfaction and frustration over a study released by the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans earlier this week on Indigenous rights-based fisheries, specifically those affirmed in the 1999 Marshall decisions. The report dismisses over twenty-two years of work by the...
July 12, 2022
Federal government is failing First Nation fishers, Senate Committee on Fishing and Oceans finds
NationTalk: Halifax – More than 23 years after a Supreme Court of Canada ruling affirmed the treaty fishing rights of certain First Nations, the federal government has failed to fully implement Indigenous rights-based fisheries, according to a new report by the Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. Peace on the Water: Advancing the Full Implementation...
November 21, 2021
25th Anniversay of the RCAP Final Report
Prime Minister’s Office – “25th anniversary of the final report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples”. The five-volume landmark document outlined 440 recommendations on Indigenous governance, nation rebuilding, lands and resources, treaties, economic development, and social policy, and called for the renewal of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples and all orders of...
October 15, 2020
Wet’suwet’en protests against Coastal GasLink
Union of BC Indian Chiefs – Coastal GasLink called in the RCMP to remove a group of Wet’suwet’en women and community members who are holding ceremony at a proposed drill site for Coastal Gaslink’s pipeline. UBCIC stands in solidarity with the Indigenous land defenders who are protecting the Wedzin Kwa, the river that sustains and...
January 6, 2020
Wet’suwet’en Coastal GasLInk protests
Hereditary Chiefs of all five Wet’suwet’en clans have rejected BC Supreme Court Justice Marguerite Church’s decision granting an interlocutory injunction, which criminalizes Anuk ‘nu’at’en (Wet’suwet’en law), and have issued and enforced an eviction of CGL’s workers from the territory. “Canada and the B.C. government have both pledged to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights...
January 10, 2019
Wet’suwet’en Coastal GasLink protests
What happens when you engage Hereditary Chiefs in the Process vs excluding them? Union of BC Indian Chiefs – “There are not a lot of similarities between the Broughton and the Unist’ot’en engagement with the Province (as stated by Premier John Horgan). In June, government-to-government work between our three Nations and the Province was confirmed...
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