APTN News Brief

With the Brief taking a short break from all-new episodes, we instead feature other podcasts in the APTN News line-up. Today, it's our 'Truth & Politics' panel, our regular expert breakdown of what's making headlines. In this excerpt, a discussion of Manitoba's sudden pause on what would have been Canada's first Indigenous-led supervised consumption site. Extro music:  'Pay It Forward' by 1000 Handz (CC BY) 

Our lead story: almost two decades after her daughter's body was found in a rural Manitoba ditch, the mother of the late 24-year-old Crystal Saunders says she won't receive justice after her killer accepts a plea bargain.  

Our lead story: the federal government announces just over $17M in support for northern Indigenous languages audio/video content from broadcasters operating above the 55th parallel.  

Our lead story: fierce criticism emerges in some scholarly circles over a Saskatchewan court ruling a well-known researcher of Indigenous ancestry claims had defamed an academic who once believed herself to be Algonquin. 

Our lead story: a Saskatchewan judge orders scholar Darryl Leroux to pay $70,000 in defamation-related damages to literature professor Michelle Coupal for alleging she'd consciously and deliberately misled others about her ancestry. >Interstitial: zapsplat.com    

Our lead story: the Kanehsatake Perimeter Response Team—a partial solution to the Mohawk community's lack of a police force since 2004—faces an uncertain future with its federal funding set to run out soon. >Interstitial: zapsplat.com

Our lead story: Indigenous Services Canada minister Mandy Gull-Masty catches an earful over the weekend from Kashechewan evacuees, whose water  issues forced them to flee their northern Ontario First Nation in January.  

Our lead story: the Nunavut premier reacts to the recent announcement by Mark Carney's government of $35 billion in northern defence infrastructure investments, expressing hopes it will help benefit Nunavut-based companies and residents.

Our lead story: hotel chain Canad Inns fires employee caught on video barging into the room of a First Nations family, berating them as their teenager lay in bed recovering from leg surgery at a nearby hospital.

Our lead story: Nunavut MP Lori Idlout has crossed the floor from the NDP to the Liberals, bringing the government closer to a majority as Liberal MPs cheered the move on Parliament Hill.

Our lead story: the police watchdog in Manitoba has concluded its investigation into the death of Elias Whitehead, who died while being arrested by Winnipeg police officers in October 2023.

Our lead story: two people are dead after a manhunt in a small northern Ontario town that left residents under lockdown.

Our lead story: a jury finds Jamie Felix guilty of second-degree murder in connection with the fatal shootings of five people at a Winnipeg rooming house in November 2023.

Our lead story: evacuated two months ago due to failed infrastructure and the threat of cryptosporidium, Kashechewan First Nation calls on Indigenous Services Canada minister Mandy Gull-Masty to resign following delays to much-needed repairs.

Our lead story: a trial is currently underway in the death of a man who was found deceased in his home in a rural Yukon community in 2022.

Our lead story: in a follow-up to Saskatoon's October 2025 point-in-time count of people without stable housing, a more comprehensive review determines that just under 83 per cent of respondents identify as Indigenous.

Our lead story: a protest takes place outside a downtown Winnipeg Dollarama after video circulates of what appears to be a store security guard repeatedly punching and abusing a man.

Our featured story: at the annual National Indigenous Defence Conference—a chance to link with contractors as well as DND officials—Indigenous suppliers hope to access some of Canada's $82B planned defence spending via federal set-asides.

Our lead story: the Carney government announces $1.6 billion in new funds for the Jordan's Principle program over the next 12 months, but critics note it's $300 million shy of what was promised.    

Our lead story: despite stormy weather, dozens march to demand an end to police shootings in Nova Scotia, led by a Mi'kmaw family whose loved one was fatally shot by RCMP.    

Our lead story: the Office of Police Complaints Commission finds two Vancouver Police Department officers guilty of misconduct in their handling of the 2022 investigation into 20-year-old Tatyanna Harrison's disappearance.  

Our lead story: Norway House Cree Nation initiates legal action against Manitoba Hydro, the province, and the government of Canada over the impacts of a hydro-development project in their traditional territories, alleging their concerns have gone ignored for decades.

Our featured story: in light of recent news that the federal government's Indigenous Business Directory shrank by over 750 entries between 2024 and 2025, opinions differ as to what the numbers actually mean.   

Our lead story: Ontario police charge a Fort Frances elementary school principal with child luring, following alleged internet communications with a child he believed to be under 16 for the purposes of committing sexual assault.

Our featured story: leaders of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) and Wapekeka First Nation accuse Ontario's Special Investigations Unit of the "disrespectful handling of several related investigations into the deaths of three NAN members at the hands of the police." >Interstitial: zapsplat.com

Our lead story: a Quebec court rules that Franceso Sansalone, a Montreal man who kept the dead, covered body of 41-year-old Alasie Tukkiapik on a couch for six months, will serve no jail time.

Our lead story: A New Brunswick family wants answers about a loved one's drowning following an encounter with RCMP, a death his relatives believe was avoidable.

Our featured story: with a new, Inuit-led university set to open in Nunavut in 2030—a first for Arctic Canada—proponents believe it will offer a whole new range of opportunities to Inuit youth.

Our lead story: a father fatally shoots his two young daughters, then himself, early Wednesday morning on the Algonquin community of Kitigan Zibi, about 150 kms north of Ottawa.  >Interstitial: zapsplat.com  

Our lead story: a police detachment on Fisher River Cree Nation, 200 kms north of Winnipeg, is the target of a drive-by shooting early Tuesday morning by unknown individuals on an ATV.

Our lead story: Indigenous leaders gather in Ottawa this week to call on all parties to pass Bill C-10—an act to create a federal modern treaty commissioner.

Our lead story: things turn tense at a public hearing for Quebec's Bill 1—an effort to create a constitution for the province—after a chief carrying a sacred eagle staff is barred from the proceedings.

Our lead story: in a Yukon court case centered on so-called 'pretendianism'—where people falsely claim ties to an Indigenous community—an Ontario woman responds to allegations she's libelled a mother and her three daughters.  

Our featured story: a teenager in provincial care is found dead on a northwestern B.C. trail near Highway 16—aka the notorious 'Highway of Tears'—one of many First Nations victims in the area.

Our lead story: at day two of the inquest into the fatal 2020 Winnipeg police shooting of 16-year-old Eishia Hudson, testimony from two officers on scene at the time of her death.

Our lead story: the inquest into the death of Eishia Hudson opens in Winnipeg this week, the 16-year-old shot and killed by city police in April 2020 after allegedly robbing a liquor store then driving off with a group of other teens in a stolen jeep. >Interstitial: zapsplat.com

Our lead story: Arctic premiers appear before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Relations to share their perspectives on what Canada's Arctic strategy should look like moving forward. >Interstitial: zapsplat.com

Our lead story: a father stands charged with a number of serious offenses following an Alberta RCMP investigation into the death of a young Inuk mother and her presumed-dead infant.

Our lead story: the province of Ontario announces the six-year plan to build a new northern transmission line—from Nipigon Bay to a station near the Aroland First Nation—meant to support resource development in the mineral-rich 'Ring of Fire' area.

Our lead story: Berens River First Nation in Manitoba figures out next steps for students after the sudden loss of their only school to an early morning fire.

Our lead story: Dr. Dianne Lafond, the First Nations Health Ombudsperson, calls for an independent body to investigate recent incidents of alleged violence towards patients in Saskatchewan.

Our lead story: led by the 'OneBC' political party, a rally at the University of British Columbia in support of residential school denialism is confronted by a larger group of counterdemonstrators.

Our lead story: United States President Donald Trump seems to have suddenly backed down on his threat to forcibly annex Greenland, claiming he's worked out a plan for permanent U.S. access to the territory instead.

Our lead story: a Greenlandic government press conference urges citizens to prepare for what could be coming as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to speak of territorial annexation.

Our lead story: Brent Digness, a regional representative with Métis Nation–Saskatchewan, is suspended following the recent release of multiple profanity-laced voicemails.