Ontario reports more than 800 new COVID-19 cases today, 6 more deaths
September 3, 2021
Ontario is reporting more than 800 new COVID-19 infections today as the number of ICU patients approaches 170. Provincial health officials are reporting 807 new COVID-19 cases today, down from 865 on Thursday but up from 781 last Friday.
Wiikwemkoong has declared outbreak over
September 1, 2021
On Wednesday, September 1, a communique from acting Wiikwemkoong Ogimaa Tim Ominika announced the end of the outbreak that was declared in the First Nation community on August 4.
https://www.manitoulin.com/wiikwemkoong-has-declared-outbreak-over/
From mu to C.1.2, here are the latest coronavirus variants scientists are watching closely
September 2, 2021
Scientists have warned the coronavirus will keep evolving as it spreads around the world, and there are now multiple new variants being watched closely by global research teams.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/latest-coronavirus-variants-mu-c12-1.6161194
Many eligible Indigenous voters struggle with whether or not they will go to the polls
September 2, 2021
To vote or not to vote? That is the question Indigenous people face every federal and provincial election.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/many-eligible-indigenous-voters-struggle-225415362.html
Indigenous communities missing from election conversation: Q&A with researcher Courtney Skye
September 2, 2021
Federal party leaders are crisscrossing the country, talking about the issues facing Canada and sharing what they feel should be priorities this election. But one researcher says the issues facing Indigenous communities aren’t getting enough airtime.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/courtney-skype-indigenous-communities-election-1.6080151
Mississauga First Nation Chief resigns to focus on duties as Anishinabek Grand Chief
September 2, 2021
Reg Niganobe Resigns as Mississauga First Nation Chief Long-serving Chief Reginald Niganobe has tendered his resignation to Chief and Council to more fully focus on his new role as the Grand Council Chief of the Anishinabek Nation.
AIAI: Indigenous Organizations Call For Canada To Do The Right Thing
September 2, 2021
A motion was recently brought forward by the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) that Canada was incompliant with a previous order to fund First Nations Child and Family Services Agencies and Jordan’s Principle.
https://nationtalk.ca/story/aiai-indigenous-organizations-call-for-canada-to-do-the-right-thing
Ontario still not decided on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with federal holiday now just weeks away
September 2, 2021
The Ontario government says it still has not decided how to commemorate the federally recognized National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30, and whether or not it will mark the day as an official provincial statutory holiday.
What is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and who gets the statutory holiday?
September 2, 2021
Some people will have not one, but two statutory days off this month. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, on Sept. 30, will follow Labour Day, on Sept. 6, for the first time.
What the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement is about
September 3, 2021
The proposed Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement is about Canada’s recognition of First Nation jurisdiction over governance matters.
https://anishinabeknews.ca/2021/09/03/what-the-anishinabek-nation-governance-agreement-is-about/
There is a need for reconciliation in Canadian health care: U of T researchers
September 2, 2021
Two University of Toronto researchers are highlighting the systemic racism faced by Indigenous Peoples in Canadian health care – and urging action be taken to address the problem.
https://www.utoronto.ca/news/there-need-reconciliation-canadian-health-care-u-t-researchers
Non-Indigenous man leading MMIWG Secretariat ‘inappropriate,’ says Native Women’s Association of Canada
September 2, 2021
The Native Women’s Association of Canada says it wants answers as to why a non-Indigenous man is leading a federal secretariat established to address the ongoing tragedy of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/mmiwg-secretariat-interim-appointment-1.6162659
Opinion: Residential schools must be part of Canada’s nation-building narrative
September 2, 2021
The narrative of how Canada became a nation has been confronted by survivors, elders and Indigenous historians and it is no longer acceptable to propagate a nation-building narrative disconnected from the role residential schools played in forcibly removing Indigenous nations from their homes.
Election Insight : Why First Nations hate gun control, love housing programs
September 2, 2021
In a survey of social media posts, First Nations broke with the mainstream on any number of issues typically considered progressive. Not a single First Nations social media post about gun control was positive, and 62 per cent were explicitly negative. First Nations were also decidedly mixed on the issue of universal basic income. Only 41 per cent posted about it positively, against 37 per cent who saw it negatively. It’s a sharp contrast to the “government employee” category, where 61 per cent of the posts about universal basic income were positive.
David Suzuki: IPCC report could be a legal game changer for climate
September 2, 2021
We recently wrote that the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment report contained little we didn’t already know. It has profound legal implications, though—which could offer hope to youth climate litigants, marginalized communities suffering disproportionately from impacts, and even island nations threatened by rising sea levels.
https://www.straight.com/news/david-suzuki-ipcc-report-could-be-a-legal-game-changer-for-climate
Manitoba First Nations leaders say they’re non-partisan despite endorsing Liberal candidate in front of NDP leader
September 2, 2021
Two First Nations organizations in Manitoba will support a Liberal candidate in Manitoba’s most northern riding in the upcoming election. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) and the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) made the announcement at a meet and greet with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh on the campaign trail in Winnipeg late last week.
Indigenous leader fires broadside at ‘very ineffectual’ northern Manitoba MP Ashton
September 2, 2021
A prominent Manitoba Indigenous leader is castigating the NDP’s northern MP, arguing Niki Ashton doesn’t deserve to be re-elected later this month. “Niki has been very ineffectual; I don’t think Niki has actually enhanced our advocacy and our region,” said Grand Chief Arlen Dumas of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.
SCO launches awareness campaign
September 3, 2021
Calling on Manitobans to honour the survivors and those who died in residential schools, the Southern Chiefs Organization have designated the month of September as a time of reflection, commemoration and solidarity.
https://www.brandonsun.com/local/SCO-launches-awareness-campaign-575234341.html
Mobile program dedicated to NHL legend Fred Sasakamoose en route to First Nations
September 1, 2021
A truck and trailer program dedicated to Indigenous NHL legend Frederick “Fred” Sasakamoose was unveiled this week in Saskatchewan. As one of the first Indigenous NHLers, he helped break the barrier for generations of First Nations players with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 1953-54 season. He then returned to Saskatchewan to build and develop minor hockey as well as other sports.
https://globalnews.ca/news/8160252/medavie-health-services-trailer-nhl-fred-sasakamoose/
Police charge man with setting fire to Calgary memorial for residential school victims
September 2, 2021
A man has been charged after a fire was set last month at a memorial honouring residential school victims outside Calgary City Hall.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/police-charge-man-setting-fire-224446706.html
AHS’ mobile mammography clinic touring First Nations, rural hamlets
September 2, 2021
A mobile clinic screening for breast cancer is traveling to rural and Indigenous communities across Alberta, including the Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo region. The service is hard to get in remote areas, and people in rural communities often travel long distances for basic health care needs.
New class action alleges birth alerts are ‘a product of the state’s colonialist and paternalistic attitude’
September 2, 2021
Parents who were subjected to a birth alert in B.C. are being represented in a proposed class action filed in B.C.’s Supreme Court on Wednesday. A “birth alert” is when a social worker flags a pregnant person to hospital staff without their consent, requiring hospital staff to contact child protection authorities once the baby’s born.
B.C. First Nations leaders call for more Indigenous-specific drug treatment programs amid overdose crisis
September 2, 2021
A constant reminder of B.C.’s drug overdose crisis sits on a shelf in Grand Chief Stewart Phillip’s Penticton home: the ashes of his son, killed by carfentanyl, a little more than three years ago. “The opioid crisis is a very personal, painful issue for our family,” the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs president told CBC’s The Early Edition.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/indigenous-drug-treatment-1.6162973
‘If They Destroy This, They’re Wiping Us off This Territory’
September 2, 2021
Molly Wickham squats at the precipice above Lamprey Creek. Behind her, the earth tumbles steeply into a ravine. Beyond, Howson Peak sits prominently against a bluebird sky.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2021/09/03/Wiping-Us-Off-Territory/
First Nation geothermal project completes first two wells in BC Canada
September 3, 2021
The Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN) in British Columbia, Canada has shared that the drilling of two full-size geothermal wells in the Clarke Lake field is now complete. One of the wells was developed by reentering and deepening an existing gas well, repurposing it for geothermal energy.
DNA analysis of grizzly bears aligns with Indigenous languages
September 2, 2021
Along the central coast of what is now known as British Columbia, Gitga’at, Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk), Wuikinuxv, Nuxalk, and Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nations are monitoring and managing wildlife populations, continuing a legacy of stewardship of this landscape since time immemorial.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/dna-analysis-grizzly-bears-aligns-215037447.html
In new memoir, activist Thomas-Muller traces impact of extraction industries on First Nations, and his own life
September 1, 2021
In his recently published memoir, Clayton Thomas-Muller relates a childhood of abuse and dislocation. Uprooted from his ancestral home in northern Manitoba, he and his mother struggle to make a new life in Winnipeg.
Nunavut electors rank housing, suicide prevention as top priorities
September 2, 2021
When New Democrat MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq decided that she didn’t want to run for a second term, Nunavut’s single federal seat was back in play in an election now in full swing. At the territorial level, Nunavut has no party politics under its consensus system. In the last decade, Nunavummiut have elected Conservative, Liberal and NDP members of Parliament.
‘A large step forward’: Arctic First Nation goes solar
September 2, 2021
The Yukon’s northernmost First Nations community has officially completed an ambitious project that will help it tackle climate change.
https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/a-large-step-forward-arctic-first-nation-goes-solar/
ITK pushes for more Inuit-focused federal spending
September 2, 2021
The leader of Canada’s national Inuit organization says he’s ready to collaborate with any federal party that can continue to support Inuit-focused investment. Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami released its own wish list last week ahead of the Sept. 20 election, calling on party leaders to make the needs of Inuit Nunangat central to their platforms.
https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/itk-pushes-for-more-inuit-focused-federal-spending/
Musician teaches Inuktitut over TikTok to 22,000 followers
September 2, 2021
Becky Han, a musician originally from Arctic Bay, has amassed a following of over 22,000 on TikTok where she posts short Inuktitut lessons and videos about Inuit culture. Now, she’s released a children’s book.
https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/musician-teaches-inuktitut-over-tiktok-to-22000-followers/
Conservatives promise funds for northern ports, hydro projects
September 1, 2021
The Conservative Party is promising to “close the infrastructure gap” in the North and help pay for several projects if elected, including road and hydro links between Nunavut and Manitoba, a port in Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., and a clean energy project in Yukon.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/conservative-platform-northern-infrastructure-1.6161270
2021 Federal Election
Where the main party leaders are on Day 20 of the federal election campaign
September 3, 2021
Here’s what you need to know about where the leaders of Canada’s major political parties are on Day 20 of the election campaign.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-election-2021-where-the-leaders-are-day-20-1.6163378
In first leaders debate, Trudeau hints at another election in 18 months if denied majority
September 2, 2021
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau came out swinging against the Conservative, New Democrat and Bloc Québécois leaders, who criticized his decision to plunge Canada into an election and attacked him whenever possible during two hours of the first “decisive” debate in French.
Federal leaders spar over vaccines, health care and guns in first French-language debate
September 2, 2021
The main party leaders appeared on stage for the first time Thursday in a French-language debate that was at times raucous as the four men fiercely competed for votes in a province that could very well decide who is Canada’s next prime minister.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/french-language-tva-debate-1.6163385
Singh says injustice experienced by Indigenous people is “by design”
September 2, 2021
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he’s not worried about the term “systemic racism” but says that injustice experienced by Indigenous people has been “by design.”
Liberals’ climate plan gets top marks from economist, but Tories are not far behind
September 3, 2021
The Liberals have the most effective, least costly climate change policy of the four main federal parties, according to one economist, but the Conservatives are not far behind in second place.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mark-jaccard-climate-policy-analysis-options-1.6163292
Canadian election 2021: Do strategic voting campaigns actually work?
September 2, 2021
Labour unions and other progressive organizations in Canada have increasingly embraced strategic voting as a preferred strategy to defeat Conservative politicians. But as we approach the Sept. 20 federal election, it’s worth asking: Does the tactic really work?
Rural vs. urban voters: Resources, unity and the 2021 election
September 3, 2021
That Canadians vote differently regionally is well known. What is less understood is how recent elections have pitted the less populated resource producing regions against urban resource consumers.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/opinion-rural-urban-voter-divide-election-2021-1.6162573
Opinion: We asked Canadians for their election priorities. Here’s their top four
September 3, 2021
Almost three weeks into the campaign for the 44th Canadian federal election, and Leger research shows that voters are on the move. Erin O’Toole’s Conservative Party of Canada is up five points from pre-election polling to 34 per cent, Jagmeet Singh’s New Democratic Party has increased its vote share to 24 per cent, and the Liberal campaign has yet to take off — with Justin Trudeau’s party sitting at 30 per cent, down from 35 per cent.
Advocates disappointed by lack of racial diversity among major parties’ candidates
September 2, 2021
Given the racial reckoning that began in 2020, community organizers and political scientists say it’s disappointing that major political parties are still failing to have slates of candidates that fully reflect Canada’s diversity.
The ‘Sahm Rule’ is making a big splash in the election
September 2, 2021
Canada’s opposition Conservatives have latched onto an idea pioneered by former Federal Reserve economist Claudia Sahm, as they seek to unseat Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the election this month.
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/the-sahm-rule-is-making-a-big-splash-in-the-election
Why Canada could be burning coal well beyond the 2030 deadline set by the Liberals
September 2, 201
Despite what Canadians have been told, some parts of the country could be burning coal well beyond the 2030 deadline set by the Liberals in 2016.
https://globalnews.ca/news/8162207/canada-coal-thermal-deadline-2030-liberal/
Pandemic impeding efforts to recruit poll workers, secure poll locations
September 2, 2021
Elections Canada says it still has a “significant need” for workers to staff polling stations across the country for the Sept. 20 federal election. The agency is hoping to hire about 232,000 poll workers, the same number it employed for advance polls and election day in 2019, but recruitment has so far fallen short.
Voting system very different this election
September 2, 2021
It will not be as easy to vote in this fall’s Federal Election. Local Election Canada officials say COVID-19 has created some logistical problems including access to facilities such as schools which are usually used as voting locations.
https://www.baytoday.ca/canadavotes2021/voting-system-very-different-this-election-4298219
The GTA is the most important election battleground. Will it stay red?
September 2, 2021
The federal election hasn’t hit its stride yet, but observers sense a power shift is possible. Conservatives reading the polls are feeling good. Liberals looking at the same polls are feeling, well, nervous. The NDP takes great comfort in the popularity of Jagmeet Singh but worries that it won’t win NDP seats on election day.
B.C. housing experts cautious on whether campaign policies will change affordability crisis
September 3, 2021
It’s the first election campaign in B.C. with housing affordability at the forefront — unless you count the last provincial election.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/b-c-housing-experts-cautious-110019216.html
Green Party leader accidentally endorses Liberal environment plan
September 2, 2021
It was an endorsement Justin Trudeau and the Liberals probably weren’t expecting.
At a press conference this afternoon in Toronto, Green Party Leader Annamie Paul appeared to give a thumbs-up to the Liberals’ plan on climate change.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/green-party-endorsement-liberals-climate-1.6162948
Simcoe North candidates field range of questions at first forum of election
August 2, 2021
From the Champlain Monument and immigration to the housing crisis and health care, Simcoe North’s federal election candidates got to share their views on a variety of topics Thursday evening.
Simcoe-Grey candidates weigh-in on reconciliation with First Nations
September 2, 2021
CollingwoodToday.ca asked each of the federal candidates in Simcoe-Grey a series of six questions via email. The following responses were submitted by the candidates and/or their campaigns. The answers have not been checked for accuracy; they represent the candidate’s platforms and opinions.
Voter relief in sight–one-stop access to information on all federal election candidates in 109 languages
September 3, 2021
A team of 90+ young Canadians from across the country collaborated online to createYouCount.ca, a non-partisan, not-for-profit digital platform dedicated to providing easy access to information on the country’s political representatives and political institutions.
