COVID-19 in Indigenous communities: What you need to know
April 28, 2021
The curve of new COVID-19 infections in First Nations and Inuit communities continues to trend downward, as vaccination efforts continue to ramp up across the country. To date, 108 vaccine doses, including 93,367 second doses, have been administered in 651 First Nations and Inuit communities. Clinics for Indigenous people living in urban areas to receive their shot have been organized in several cities across Canada.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/indigenous-covid-19-update-1.6003896
Ontario reports 3,480 new COVID-19 cases, 24 deaths
April 28, 2021
Ontario is reporting 3,480 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. The provincial total now stands at 455,606. Wednesday’s case count is higher than Tuesday’s 3,265 new infections but is the fourth day in a row cases have been lower than 4,000.
https://globalnews.ca/news/7815799/ontario-coronavirus-covid-cases-april-28/
Indigenous people in Toronto have much higher rates of COVID hospitalization than general population, new data shows
April 26, 2021
Indigenous people in Toronto have been hospitalized with COVID-19 at more than three times the rate of the general population in the city, according to preliminary data provided exclusively to the Star. The rate of COVID-19 infection for Indigenous people in Toronto is also 23 per cent higher than that of the city’s general population, according to the data. It was compiled by a coalition of Indigenous health providers and analyzed by Dr. Janet Smylie, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Health.
Ontario largely ignored long-term care as COVID-19 crisis began, internal documents reveal
April 28, 2021
Internal government documents obtained by CBC News show few signs that Ontario prepared the long-term care sector for the risks from COVID-19 before the virus began its deadly spread through the province’s nursing homes.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/covid-19-ontario-long-term-care-coronavirus-1.6004572
Federal government insists it’s up to Ontario to make businesses pay for sick leave
April 27, 2021
Ottawa is rejecting Ontario’s offer to top up the federal paid sick leave program to $1,000 a week for provincial residents instead of creating its own. In an April 22 letter to federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland obtained by CBC News, Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said the province is prepared to immediately double the Canada recovery sickness benefit for every Ontario resident, instead of launching its own paid sick day initiative or making businesses provide paid sick days to employees.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-paid-sick-leave-ottawa-1.6003527
What Johnson & Johnson’s 1-shot vaccine could mean for Ontario’s most vulnerable
April 28, 2021
The first doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine are set to arrive this week in Ontario, where one expert says they could do a world of good for some of the province’s most vulnerable.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/johnson-johnson-vaccine-ontario-vulnerable-1.6004021
Minister Vandal and Minister Miller highlight Northern housing and infrastructure investments in Budget 2021
April 27, 2021
Budget 2021 is the Government of Canada’s plan to finish the fight against COVID-19 and ensure a robust economic recovery that is inclusive of all Canadians. Minister of Northern Affairs, the Honourable Daniel Vandal, and Minister of Indigenous Services Canada, the Honourable Marc Miller met with Indigenous partners across the North and in Inuit Nunangat yesterday to discuss northern housing and infrastructure investments from Budget 2021: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience.
Net-zero home in Indigenous community wins UW students award from U.S. Department of Energy
April 28, 2021
Members of a design team at the University of Waterloo placed second at the 2020 Solar Decatholon build challenge, which is put on by the United States Department of Energy, for designing and building a net-zero energy home in an Indigenous community near Wiarton. The project, which started in late 2017, was completed in collaboration with the Chippewa of Nawash Unceded First Nation and Habitat for Humanity Grey Bruce.
Stories from Anemki Wajiw: Hide scraping
April 27, 2021
The pandemic has many people rethinking the value of their connection to community and their own history. For Jolene Banning of Fort William First Nation, those connections go back generations and include the natural world.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/jolene-banning-hide-scraping-1.6004213
Weaving Indigenous and western knowledge
April 27, 2021
How Indigenous researchers and communities are working in partnership with universities and non-Indigenous researchers to shape the future of environmental sciences.
New program aids Indigenous entrepreneurs with tourism ideas
April 26, 2021
A new provincial program wants to help Indigenous tourism entrepreneurs get their ideas off to a solid start. Indigenous Tourism Ontario (ITO) and the Ontario Tourism Innovation Lab are partnering to launch the Indigenous Tourism Skode (pronounced “Shkoh-deh” in Anishinaabemowin) Program.
How Canada can advance Indigenous rights through trade agreements
April 28, 2021
Our engagement with CPTPP partners can further strengthen Indigenous rights, especially if we bring in Taiwan and other states which recognize the rights of Indigenous peoples in their territories.
Opinion: Economic Development articles— Quarterly summary #2: The Entrepreneur
April 28, 2021
It has now been a year since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic response brought many aspects of our daily lives to a screeching halt and forced many of us to shift our work environments to our homes.
Fire at historic Listuguj church destroys documented stories from elders
April 27, 2021
A historic church from the early 1900s in Listuguj First Nation caught fire and burned to the ground overnight. The fire at St. Anne’s Church started around 10:30 p.m. Monday. Fire crews were still on scene Tuesday, putting out hot spots.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/st-anne-s-church-fire-1.6003368
Dryden officially approves Boozhoo, Memorial Avenues
April 27, 2021
City councillors in Dryden have officially approved the split and renaming of Colonization Avenue to Boozhoo Avenue and Memorial Avenue, in honour of Dryden’s Indigenous community, their ancestors and those who built our community.
https://www.drydennow.com/articles/dryden-officially-approves-boozhoo-memorial-avenues
New rural transportation service connecting Selwyn and Curve Lake to Peterborough launches on May 3
April 27, 2021
The Link is a pilot project of Selwyn Township, Curve Lake First Nation, Community Care Peterborough, and the City of Peterborough, funded with a $1.48-million grant under the Ontario government’s Community Transportation Grant program
Walleye will adapt their spawning to Lake Nipissing water levels says MNRF
April 27, 2021
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry maintains the current level of Lake Nipissing is “typical for this time of year.” Expanding on a report posted Monday by BayToday, the MNRF advises Lake Nipissing was drawn down to normal levels in January and February, a common practice to provide additional flood storage for anticipated rain in the spring.
Trudeau says science will determine border reopening
April 27, 2021
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says more research is needed before Canadians should expect the border to the United States or travel to the European Union is given the OK.
https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/trudeau-says-science-will-determine-border-reopening-3669444
Ontario Introduces Legislation to Strengthen Health Workforce Accountability and Enhance Data-Driven COVID-19 Response
April 27, 2021
Today, the Ontario government introduced legislation that, if passed, will help strengthen Ontario’s health care workforce and support the delivery of high-quality care by regulating personal support workers, physician assistants and behaviour analysts. This legislation would also enhance the province’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic by promoting the timely reporting of COVID-19 vaccine data to the Ministry of Health.
RCMP looks to redraft its entrance exam as it pushes for a more diverse police service
April 27, 2021
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is looking to scrub its entrance exam of cultural biases and “outdated criteria” as it tries to confront what’s been called its “toxic culture” and the problem of systemic racism in the ranks.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rcmp-entrance-exam-1.6003416
Montreal organizations offer COVID-19 vaccine to urban Indigenous population
April 27, 2021
Carole Brazeau felt a sense of relief receiving her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. She was among the first Indigenous people to receive the shot at one of three new clinics in Montreal open to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis living in and around the city.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/montreal-urban-indigenous-vaccine-clinics-1.6004570
Sipekne’katik First Nation Plans Summer Lobster Fishery
April 27, 2021
The Sipekne’katik First Nation is moving ahead with another ‘moderate livelihood’ lobster fishery in St. Mary’s Bay this summer.
https://www.country94.ca/2021/04/27/sipeknekatik-first-nation-plans-summer-lobster-fishery/
‘Patriarchal nonsense’: Indigenous Manitobans denounce province’s plan to rename lands
April 27, 2021
A Cree writer and filmmaker, an Ojibwe grandmother and an MLA say the province’s decision to rename eight wildlife management areas after “prominent Manitobans” is disrespectful and colonialist.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-wmas-renamed-1.6004913
Treaty rights at centre of trial of 4 Mi’kmaw fishermen set to begin next month
April 27, 2021
The trial of four Mi’kmaw fishermen accused of illegal fishing in September 2019 will begin next month in Nova Scotia provincial court. Ashton Joseph Bernard, 31, Arden Joseph Bernard, 22, Rayen Gage Frances, 22, and Zachery Cuevas Nicholas, 34, don’t dispute they were fishing in the lucrative Lobster Fishing Area 34 off southwestern Nova Scotia when the commercial season was closed. But the four men argue they had a treaty right to fish there during that time.
Indigenous leaders blast Jason Kenney’s vaccine comments, call for more restrictions
April 27, 2021
First Nation and Métis leaders are accusing Premier Jason Kenney of blaming their communities for COVID-19’s viral spread in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB), and demanding an apology. During an April 26 press conference, Kenney said there have been reports of widespread vaccine hesitancy in Indigenous communities, pointing to a February CBC article mentioning that 576 people out of 1,100 residents had received a vaccine.
Death of Ellie Herman a reminder MMIWG2S an issue ‘people can’t ignore’
April 27, 2021
Daniel Herman started getting worried in late September 2019 when he stopped hearing from his daughter, Ellie Herman. It wasn’t like her to disappear, and Herman was reported missing a few weeks later on Oct. 17. “I was worried about her seven days a week and 24 hours a day,” said Daniel. “I could barely eat and I didn’t even know what I was going through at the time.”
Online petition calls for province to deny permanent license to Manitoba Hydro for Churchill River diversion program
April 27, 2021
Along with billboards placed around the city of Winnipeg, an online petition is calling for the minister of Conservation and Climate in Manitoba to deny the final license needed to continue with the Churchill River diversion (CRD) program.
First Nation Sensation portrayed his wrestling gimmick in a positive way
April 27, 2021
The first time Wavell Starr attended a live wrestling event with his mooshum, kokum, and father, he was fascinated. Not just by what was happening in the ring but what was unfolding behind the scenes.
Wood Buffalo leaders call for regional measures to curb COVID-19 surge
April 28, 2021
Municipal and Indigenous leaders in Fort McMurray are calling on the provincial government to bring in targeted regional measures to deal with a surge in COVID-19 cases over the last month. Don Scott, mayor of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB), provided a public update at Tuesday’s council meeting on a meeting held with Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro and chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw earlier that day.
‘We do not welcome interference’: When First Nations break with environmentalists
April 28, 2021
It’s been dubbed the new “War in the Woods”: A growing Vancouver Island protest encampment aimed at disrupting planned logging in Fairy Creek, an expanse of old-growth rainforest located just north of the British Columbia capital of Victoria. But this month yielded an unexpected twist in the Fairy Creek saga: Local First Nations leadership are definitely not on board.
Mining giant agreement upsets two Innu communities
April 27, 2021
News is out of an agreement-in-principle reached with mining giant Rio Tinto – IOC. But it’s upset members of two Innu communities in Quebec who say they weren’t properly consulted before chief and council signed on the dotted line.
https://www.aptnnews.ca/videos/mining-giant-agreement-upsets-two-innu-communities/
Unsafe, unnecessary, and unlawful: First Nation makes last stand against Site C
April 27, 2021
After 21 years as chief of West Moberly First Nations, Roland Willson has a few legal challenges under his belt. He’s presided over successful cases to push back against coal mining and protect declining caribou herds in his people’s northeastern B.C. territory.
Inaugural B.C. reconciliation award presented to 9 individuals, organizations
April 27, 2021
Six individuals and three organizations have been recognized for their work around reconciliation with the inaugural British Columbia Reconciliation Award. The new award, announced in November, goes to British Columbians who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, integrity, respect, and commitment to furthering reconciliation with Indigenous people.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-reconciliation-award-corey-payette-1.6005056
Scratching the surface: more needed to address northern housing, say MPs, experts
April 28, 2021
‘The budget is a disappointment for those who hoped we could finally address the deep core housing needs facing Canada’s urban and rural Indigenous peoples,’ says Canada Housing and Renewal Association’s Jeff Morrison.
Federal government announces substantial funding for Northern housing
April 27, 2021
The federal government has confirmed a $50-million tranche to be released from 2021-22 as funding for the immediate construction and repair of housing units in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Nunavut MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq announces 2-week sick leave
April 27, 2021
Nunavut MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq says she will be taking a two-week doctor recommended leave. In a post to Twitter on Tuesday, she says it is not COVID-19 related, but that she continues to struggle with her mental health. “Recently, the doctor has recommended some time off to heal,” her post read.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/mumilaaq-qaqqaq-taking-sick-leave-1.6004475
Easing of COVID-19 restrictions in the Yukon could be right around the corner – as long as people play by the rules says territory’s chief doctor
April 27, 2021
The Yukon’s chief medical officer of health says COVID-19 restrictions could soon be easing – as long as Yukoners continue to get vaccinated. “We need to hang on for a few more weeks, maybe months, but once we’re in the summer I’m quite optimistic that we’ll be able to make significant changes to our quarantine measures,” Dr. Brendan Hanley, the Yukon’s chief medical officer of health told APTN News.
https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/covid-19-restrictions-yukon-vaccinations/
UPCOMING EVENTS
Call for Proposals: Capacity-building funding for An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families for fiscal year 2021-2022
A call for proposals is now open to support capacity-building in relation to An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families for fiscal year 2021-2022. Funding is available to Indigenous Peoples, communities, and groups as they begin work to develop their own legislation and explore Indigenous-led models for child and family services.
Learn more: https://bit.ly/31P9GUe
Save the Date: Chiefs of Ontario 47th All Ontario Chiefs Conference 2021
The Chiefs of Ontario and Grand Council Treaty #3 will be hosting the 47th All Ontario Chiefs Conference 2021 on June 15-17, 2021. For the Chiefs of Ontario All Ontario Chiefs Conference (AOCC), please find the 1st Call for Resolutions attached. Deadline for Resolutions is Wednesday, May 26, 2021. For more information, please visit https://www.chiefsmeeting.com/aocc-2021.
Issue 9 of The Official Chiefs of Ontario Magazine, The Advocate is now online!
To view, please click here: https://www.mediaedgemagazines.com/the-chiefs-of-ontario-coo/oo21c/.
International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) Annual Meeting, May 17-21, 2021
Hosted by Michigan Technological University, the virtual conference will feature four days of scientific sessions and speakers focusing on our theme Bridging: Knowledge, Seven Generations, Land-to-Lake.
For more information and registration, click here: https://bit.ly/3nI8gUh.
Chiefs of Ontario Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates
Find Our Latest Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates Here. This website provides information on emergency planning and preparedness, as well as on the unique programs and services that are available to First Nations in Ontario during times of emergency.
