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REGINA - A class action lawsuit
filed blames the federal government for medical
experiments allegedly performed on Indigenous people
without their consent.
(Regina Leader-Post)
OTTAWA - The federal information
watchdog is investigating Library and Archives Canada's
decision to invoke 'solicitor-client privilege' in its
refusal to release a nearly 100-year-old document on the
federal government's treatment of sick First Nations
children.
(CBC)
WINNIPEG - The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is suing the Government of Manitoba for almost $1B, alleging the decision to approve the Shark Club Gaming Centre while refusing to open a First Nations-owned casino in Winnipeg cost First Nations millions of dollars in lost revenue. (CBC)
CORNER BROOK - Matthew Connolly, 57, may believe he is indigenous but the government of Canada does not. Connolly was one of 82,630 people who received a letter dated Jan 31, 2017, denying his application for membership in the Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation. (Toronto Star)
The 'No' spoken by Elijah Harper in June 1990, as he held an eagle feather in his seat in the Manitoba legislature, was soft, certain - and historic. His recurring 'No' effectively scuttled the Meech Lake constitutional accord. (Toronto Star) MORE: Elijah Harper
OTTAWA - Even as the federal government pressures provinces and territories to take up its offer of billions to improve mental health services for Canadians, an internal memo suggests it's failing in its own responsibility to provide adequate care for mentally ill children in First Nations communities. (CP) MORE: Group homes closed
REGIAN - RCMP executed a drug
warrant at a home on the Key First Nation north of
Kamsack.
Officers arrested
Clarence Papequash, 64, a councillor and former chief of
the reserve.
Papequash faces five
counts of drug trafficking, in addition to various
firearm-related charges.
(CTV)
MORE:
Former Chief charged
WINNIPEG - Internal federal
documents estimate it will cost $165M to replace
government-issued slop pails with modern indoor plumbing
on 4 of Canada's poorest reserves, but only a fraction of
that has been budgeted.
(CP)
VANCOUVER - Rick Desautel was 40 miles north of the border and the officers would quickly find he was an American citizen without permits to hunt in the Canadian province of BC. Desautel's case could set a precedent that would grant tens of thousands of Native Americans living in the US a new set of rights - in Canada. (Guardian UK) JUDGMENT: 2017 BCSC 2389 Border straddling Border crossing issues and the Jay Treaty .pdf Jay Treaty
ALEXANDER FN - A 'forensic
investigation' has identified $2.1M in 'unexplained
payments' to a former chief of the Alexander First Nation
and 7 administrative staff, according to a leaked internal
document.
(CBC)
TORONTO - A First Nations group has won a 7-year legal
battle to appoint a representative to the
OLG
board of directors.
(Toronto Star) |
Cocaine, marijuana and tens of thousands of dollars in cash were used to bribe voters in a recent SK First Nation election, says a report commissioned by the federal government. Former RCMP officer Bob Norton concluded there is 'no doubt' ballot-buying occurred during the April 20 election at Mosquito, Grizzly Bear's Head, Lean Man First Nation. (CBC)
OTTAWA - 2 Canadian law firms
have filed a $1.1B class-action lawsuit on behalf
of former patients of government-run 'Indian hospitals,'
which comprised a decades-long segregated health care
system now marred by allegations of widespread
mistreatment and abuse.
(CBC)
RELATED:
Fighting Tuberculosis in Nunavut means addressing more
than just the disease
FORT LIARD - The Acho Dene Koe band suspended Chief Harry Deneron until further notice, citing a 'lack of confidence' in his leadership amid an ongoing lawsuit involving Deneron and the band's development corporation. (CBC)
OTTAWA - In a move to block a treaty between the Algonquins of Ontario and the federal and Ontario governments, a group of Quebec Algonquins have filed an Aboriginal title claim for lands in downtown Ottawa, including Parliament Hill, the Supreme Court of Canada and Lebreton Flats. (CBC)
CHURCHILL - In 1952, the provincial government decided the Sayisi Dene were killing off too many caribou around Little Duck Lake in northern MB and convinced the federal government to move the entire community away from its hunting grounds. On Aug. 17, 1956, a government plane arrived in Little Duck Lake, loaded more than 250 community members and flew them to the barren tundra outside Churchill, MB. By the time the government agreed to relocate the people to Tadoule Lake in 1973, of the more than 250 members who were originally moved, 117 had died. (CBC) MORE: Government apologizes
YELLOWKNIFE - A recently revealed program of police surveillance across Canada is 'alarming' and a 'threat to our own security,' says former NWT premier Stephen Kakfwi. (CBC)
WINNIPEG - Internal government documents say Manitoba
First Nations live in some of the most dilapidated homes
in the country and it will cost $2B to eliminate mould and
chronic overcrowding in that province alone.
(CP)
NIAGARA
FALLS - The Assembly of First Nations (AFN)
signed an agreement with the RCMP to address racism and
discrimination within the force as the two sides look for
new ways to improve relations.
(CBC)
MORE:
New fiscal agreement
TORONTO
- The James Bay Cree Nation has filed a lawsuit seeking
title to about 48,000 square kilometres of land in NE ON.
(CP)
OTTAWA - While some progress has been made, aboriginal
people are not on track to achieve parity with the rest
of Canadians by 2022 - the target date set by the board
to close the gaps, the
NAEDB found.
(CBC)
REPORT:
Aboriginal Economic Progress Report 2015
First Nations becoming less prosperous
DUCK LAKE - The Specific
Claims Tribunal said in its decision that the federal
government withheld treaty payments to Beardy's Okemasis
First Nation between 1885 and 1888 following the
Northwest Rebellion
Rebellion.
(CP)
OTTAWA - The federal auditor general released a
scathing report on the state of
Child and Family Services
in the Northwest Territories.
(CBC)
REPORT:
Child and family services in the NWT |
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OTTAWA - The federal government is moving to provide
10-year grants to some First Nations with little
bureaucratic oversight.
(CBC)
'High Poverty' among Canada native children Residents arrive in Kapuskasing |
UN fact finder to look at plight of First Nations Bridge protest not part of Idle No More Protests pose awkward questions
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Attawapiskat's financial troubles 'We need to stop building crap' |
Reporters barred from hunger strike site Native bands challenge budget in court First Nations leaders meet to clarify Movement grows too big to track |
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Attawapiskat won't drop legal action Bill for accountability won't fix problems Spence says she can't sustain hunger strike |
Judge rules for appointed manager |
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OTTAWA
- The federal government has announced they will pay
hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation to the
survivors of what is known as the '60s Scoop.
(CTV) |
SASKATOON - Indigenous women in SK are proposing a class-action lawsuit against the province, its health regions, individual physicians and the country for what they call coerced sterilization. The SK Health Region apologized publicly for past coerced sterilization after a 57-page report (.pdf) was released. (CBC) |
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OTTAWA - The federal government discriminates against First Nation children on reserves by failing to provide the same level of child welfare services that exist elsewhere, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has ruled. (CBC) Students in jeopardy .pdf |
Federal spending on education on FNs
.pdf Bureaucrats causing cost overruns |
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Child sexual abuse is a disturbing reality in many of Canada's First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities, research is beginning to show. And only now are prominent indigenous leaders speaking out publicly for the first time about the need for communities to take a hard look. (CP) |
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Metis and non-status are Indians OTTAWA -The Supreme Court of Canada has unanimously ruled that Metis and non-status are Indians under the Constitution. The landmark, 9-0 ruling will have an impact on the relationship between the federal government and 600,000 Metis and off-reserve Indians across the country. (CP) |
MMF have won SCC land claims case |
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ONEIDA FN - One of the children who died in a house
fire along with 4 family members on the Oneida First
Nation was playing with matches or a lighter before the
house went up in flames. After an almost 6-month
investigation, the OPP and other forensic agencies have
concluded the fire was set by one of the children.
(CBC) |
Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation |
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VANCOUVER - BC First Nations are wasting no time in enforcing their claim on traditional lands in light of a landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision recognizing aboriginal land title. (CP) Aboriginal titles true meaning: billable hours SCC rules against First Nation |
Mercury poisoning effects linger First nations say they will fight pipeline Study links toxic level in river to coal mines Aboriginal movement poses threat to miners |
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REGINA - A proposed $600M class action lawsuit has been launched by the mother of a missing Indigenous woman from SK, alleging the RCMP has been systemically negligent in its investigations into murdered and missing Indigenous women across Canada. (Toronto Star) |
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Fortress of bureaucratic incompetence Aboriginal women overrepresented Government wraps consultations on inquiry |
Missing men also need attention Situation of indigenous peoples in Canada |
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Victim killed by someone they knew Aboriginal women over-represented Aboriginal women more prone to violent death |
Mounties review 417 missing cases |
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Halt to finance disclosure rules OTTAWA - Bill C-377 required unions to disclose all transactions over $5,000, reveal the details of officers or executives who make over $100,000 to the CRA. (Globe & Mail) Ottawa reducing First Nations transparency 21 northern FNs face funding freeze |
Indian Act hampers accountability |
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Duane Antoine, who recently pleaded guilty to theft charges relating to band money, has been re-elected chief of the Poundmaker Cree First Nation. (CBC) |
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YORKTON - Clarence Papequash, a band councillor on the
Key First Nation in SK, who was accused of selling
drugs, has pleaded guilty to 2 charges.
(CP) |
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MASKWACIS - Carolyn Buffalo, former chief of the Montana Cree First Nation in Maskwacis, AB, will not be returning to court to face tobacco smuggling charges. Buffalo was charged with possessing and storing contraband cigarettes after the province and the RCMP seized 16M cigarettes from a Quonset hut on the Montana First Nation in January 2011. (CBC) Reading this online may be illegal Illegal smoke shop buys a firetruck |
Long fight ahead expect on tobacco 1st Nation sues over seized smokes |
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OTTAWA
- There are 71 long-term drinking water advisories - in
existence for a year or more - in First Nations
communities across Canada.
Since Nov 2015, 18 such
warnings have been lifted, allowing the communities to
drink their tap water.
But 12 advisories have
been added, according to figures provided by the
Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs.
(CBC) |
Bureaucratic 'fix' |
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THUNDER BAY - RCMP allege more than $1.2M in public money was fraudulently obtained by a former co-manager for the Kashechewan FN between 2007 and 2012. Giuseppe (Joe) Crupi, 50, from Thunder Bay, ON, has been charged with fraud following an investigation. (CBC) MORE: Man charged Diverting funds |
A community-led online database documenting the brutal deaths and disappearances of indigenous women in Canada has been launched. The website - an initiative of 3 groups, No More Silence, Families of Sisters in Spirit and the Native Youth Sexual Health Network - is called It starts with us - MMIW. (CBC) |
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THUNDER BAY - Aboriginal Affairs is reviewing a complaint that Indian status cards were being issued out of a Thunder Bay hotel room as part of a scheme to re-elect the incumbent chief at Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation. (CBC) |
OTTAWA - A new document shows Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) shifted half a billion dollars meant for infrastructure over a 6-year period to try to cover shortfalls elsewhere. (CBC) Bernard Valcourt |
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OTTAWA - The threat of
retribution prevents many native women from lodging
human-rights complaints against the powerful members of
their communities, Canada's Human Rights Commissioner
says.
(Globe & Mail)
REPORT:
CHRC annual report 2013
.pdf |
WINNIPEG - 2 First Nation chiefs say they were offered money as enticement to sign their communities up for Bank of Montreal loan agreements arranged by the Usand Group financial firm that an internal document shows used 'kickbacks' as a tool to secure clients. (APTN) |
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MKO - Manitoba Keeewatinowi Okimakanak's Grand Chief David Harper, who is facing serious allegations of financial mismanagement, said he paid back the money he used from MKO on personal expenses and was confident a review of the books would absolve him of an improprieties. (APTN) MORE: Chief accused |
CUT KNIFE
- RCMP received the call on Sept 30th that 2 men had
removed the ballot box from the building where the vote
was being had, taken it outside, and tossed them into a
fire.
A 34-year-old man from
Poundmaker Cree Nation
was arrested shortly after and released.
(CTV)
MORE:
Charges pending |
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FREDERICTON - The provincial
government is cancelling a tax and gaming revenue-sharing
agreement with First Nations across New Brunswick.
(CBC) PREVIOUS:
NB reviews agreements
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KAHNAWAKE
- A Quebec judge has ruled that Kahnawake's 'marry out, move out' law violates the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
(CTV) MORE:
'Marry out, stay out'
Mob drives family from home |
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NORWAY HOUSE - 2 men from a
northern Manitoba First Nation have discovered they were
likely switched at birth at a federally run hospital 40
years ago.
In this latest case, the
2 were born 3 days apart. DNA tests confirmed that one man
was raised by the biological mother of the other.
(CBC) MORE:
2 friends
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WINNIPEG - Luke Monias and
Norman Barkman tried coming to terms with news that they
were switched at birth.
Monias and Barkman were
born on June 19, 1975, at a federally run Indian hospital
in
Norway House
and grew up as close friends in the northern fly-in
community of Garden Hill First Nation.
(CBC)
MORE:
Men switched at birth |
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REGINA - 5 First Nations across SK say they won't be signing on to federal funding agreements. (CBC) |
HOBBEMA - Samson Cree First Nation says Hobbema will become "Maskwacis" - Cree for “Bear Hill” - on January 1st. (CBC) |
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VANCOUVER - A Port Coquitlam, BC, couple is fighting to get 3 young foster children returned after the children were taken by the Squamish First Nation in North Vancouver and placed with another foster family. The children were taken by the Squamish nation's child welfare arm, the Ayas Men Men Child and Family Services, pursuant to its guardianship powers. (CBC) |
OTTAWA - Families,
Charlie Angus says,
routinely meet a dead end when they launch an appeal in
what is a 3-stage process.
'80% were rejected in the
1st round. The few that went to the 2nd round had a 99%
rejection rate. On the 3rd round, 100% of these children
were denied by the bureaucrats at Health Canada.'
(CBC) |
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OTTAWA - Shawn Atleo's surprise resignation
appears to be rooted in a kind of political battle fatigue that saw the
national chief waging a near constant rearguard action against rivals to his
leadership of the Assembly of
First Nations.
(CBC)
MORE:
Atleo resigns
Shawn Atleo
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ATTAWAPISKAT
- Clayton Kennedy was co-manager of the band's finances
from July 2010 until the end of the summer of 2012. In
his private life, Kennedy is also the partner of
Attawapiskat Chief
Theresa Spence.
He is now co-manager of
Taykwa Tagamou Nation,
in
Cochrane, ON.
(CBC)
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GITWINKSIHLKW - It was a
good old-fashioned 'mortgage burning' as the Nisga'a
marked the final repayment of an $84M debt they built up,
borrowing from the federal government to finance the costs
of 26 years of treaty negotiations.
(Globe & Mail)
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OTTAWA - 5 First Nations on Vancouver Island, who are part of the collective known as the Nuu-chah-nulth, have had their right to catch and sell nearly all species of fish found within their territories recognized by the country's highest court. (CBC) |
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OTTAWA - A team of professional auditors is now looking into claims made against the chief and council of the Big Island Lake Cree Nation. (CP) |
SASKATOON - Members of the Whitecap Dakota First Nation allege a former employee has stolen more than $1M from the SK reserve. (CTV) |
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NATUASHISH - RCMP in Natuashish say they went to the home with Chief Simeon Tshakapesh and a mental health worker to attend to the children, who ranged in age from 9 to 12. (CTV) MORE: Charges being considered |
Chief facing extortion charges BUFFALO POINT - John Thunder, Chief of the Buffalo Point First Nation, faces extortion charges in a complicated scheme involving federal influence to sidetrack cottagers from pursuing court action against him. MORE: Chief charged |
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SUDBURY - In a statement of claim filed in the Superior Court, the Sudbury-based company Northern Superior Resources says it obtained rights to mining claims to prospect and explore in an area about 740 kilometres NW of Thunder Bay. The company says the province should have engaged First Nations in consultation on its behalf. (CBC) |
The financial crisis of the Natuashish Innu band in Labrador has been years in the making, according to financial audits. The band, which is $1.5M to $7M in debt, has been struggling to pay its employees since August. Spending began spiraling out of control 3 years ago which show the band's expenses rose 50% between the 2008 and 2011 fiscal years. (CBC) |
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WINNIPEG - The Manitoba Association of Native Firefighters will no longer be handling the welfare of First Nations people displaced by the 2011 flood. (CBC) MORE: MB sues flooded First Nations |
BAIR-JAMES - Little noticed by the world outside, the Cree of northern Quebec are writing a startlingly different story than their cousins on the western shore of James Bay. (CBC) MORE: Eeyou Istchee Matthew Coon Come |
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TORONTO - Attorney General John Gerretsen says it will take time to consider all the recommendations from a report on the representation of First Nations people on juries - but he's taking the first steps. (CBC) PREVIOUS: Justice system 'in crisis' ON's justice system in crisis |
WILLIAMS LAKE
- The decision by the
Specific Claims Tribunal
could bring the Williams Lake Indian Band a federal
payment of up to $150M in compensation for the loss of
thousands of hectares of land along the Fraser River.
(Globe & Mail)
RULING:
No land will change hands |
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Attempt to keep case out of courts OTTAWA - The federal government has been billed more than $3M for its unsuccessful attempts to keep a high-stakes battle over First Nations child welfare out of the courts. (CP) PREVIOUS: Case will show discrimination Allegations of phony claims RCMP asked to probe Policy strands patients Staff may have used emergency flights for shopping trips |
KIMMIRUT - About 10 Kimmirut residents risked their lives in the early morning of July 28 to subdue an intoxicated 20-year-old man who, soon after the arrival of a big alcohol shipment, fired multiple rounds at the community’s RCMP detachment. (Nunatsiaq News) MORE: Mounties are 'under siege' Man charged RCMP blames booze, anger |
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The Canadian Human Rights Commission has received more than 300 complaints from aboriginal people and First Nations groups since 2008, when legislation was changed to allow the commission to look at issues such as reserve housing and federal funding for reserve services. (CBC) |
AKWESASNE - A Justice Department report said multiple tonnes of high-potency marijuana are smuggled through the St Regis Mohawk Reservation, located on the US side, each week by native American groups that are supplied by Canada-based gangs, an operation that also smuggles "multi-thousand tablet quantities" of ecstasy into the US. (CBC) |
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Commercial fishing not a right OTTAWA - A First Nation in BC lost its bid to gain widespread access to commercial fishing rights in a Supreme Court decision. (CBC) |
The federal government wants to hire a national detective service to streamline the way it investigates allegations of electoral impropriety in native communities. (CBC) |
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WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government is under fire for requesting a $1.9M fee to hand over to the Winnipeg Free Press public documents concerning flood compensation paid to First Nations. (Toronto Star) |
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OTTAWA - A decade and 38,000 claimants later, the
assessment process for the
Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement has
yet to wrap up, and may take until 2023. And the cost,
originally estimated at $960M, is so far more than triple
that amount, with an added $700M in administration fees
alone - including payments to lawyers who have been
allowed to charge both the government and the victims they
represent.
(PostMedia) Another body pulled from river Cree health board calls for careful viewing Lengths youth must go for an education Victimization of aboriginal people in Canada List of Indian residential schools Call for charges against lawyers |
Survivors will decide fate of documents Court rules against destruction First Nations Market Housing Fund Sterilization of indigenous women Indian residential school system |
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Destroying accounts irreversible Survivors outcry over erasure of records
Official seeks to destroy documents
Experiments had Ottawa's approval |
Stillbirth rates significantly higher Government ordered to release documents Inquest into deaths in Thunder Bay New beginnings .pdf |
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Audit slams Roseau River 1st Nation BC 1stN’s students to get equal funding Canadian Indian residential school system History of residential schools Band alleges century of neglect Ottawa, leaders commit to overhaul Truth & Reconciliation Commission |
RCMP 'herded' kids to residential schools Chiefs say release lacks context |
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Settlement gives hope to others |
Judge approves class-action suit Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) Six Nations to issue building permits Truth a casualty of confrontation Survivors wait while lawyers squabble This time, abusers are lawyers |
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BLOOD INDIAN RESERVE - For months, the Blood Tribe has been under siege by the highly addictive street drug Oxy 8o, also called fake oxycodone or OxyNEO. (CTV) |
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HAMILTON - The law society is seeking to suspend John
Findlay, a lawyer with Findlay McCarthy PC whose firm
apparently spent $1.5M of a settlement meant for
residents and businesses impacted by the Caledonia
protest.
(CBC) Caledonia households get $430K |
Caledonia family, OPP reach deal Report warned of potential violence |
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