Daily update on what's making headlines in Indigenous country across Canada and beyond.
Our lead story: Ontario's latest budget boosts First Nations' participation in resource development, including within the controversial ‘Ring of Fire' region, known for its critical minerals.
Our lead story: with a total of five Manitoba wildfires now burning out of control, the province reaches out to firefighters across the country for help.
Our lead story: RCMP and Manitoba conservation officers investigate the recent slaughter of dozens of pregnant caribou in a northern provincial park.
Our lead story: Mark Carney unveils his first cabinet as an elected prime minister—one that includes 28 ministers, 10 secretaries of state—featuring a trio of all newly-elected Indigenous MPs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: advocacy groups stand with First Nations leaders to voice shared concerns about proposed special economic zones for resource extraction under Ontario's Bill 5, worried their accelerated approval process will trample on Indigenous rights and environmental assessments.
Our lead story: under a state of emergency due to failing water and wastewater systems, the Pikangikum First Nation seeks both $200M in immediate federal relief as well as $2B in damages for Canada's breach of its fiduciary duties.
Our lead story: after months of failing water and wastewater infrastructure, Pikangikum First Nation in northern ON declares a state of emergency, stating the situation has placed it on the brink of humanitarian disaster.
Our lead story: a Québec watchdog investigates a fatal shooting of an unidentified individual by a member of the Nunavik Police Service during an attempted arrest in the village of Kangiqsualujjuaq. . . . . . . . . . . . Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: Families of Tatyanna Harrison, Chelsea Poorman and Noelle O'Soup demand inquiry into how Vancouver police and BC Coroners Service handled their cases.
Our lead story: a look at some of the MMIWG events across the country for Monday's National Red Dress Day, when communities gathered to honour and remember the lives of missing or murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Our lead story: Mark Carney holds his first press conference as prime minister since his Liberal party's election win, presented as an opportunity to discuss priorities going forward. . . . . . . . . . Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: upon hearing the Hudson's Bay Company was set to auction off thousands of Indigenous cultural and ceremonial items in its possession, First Nations organizations and AFN express their concern.
Our lead story: a pair of First Nations in Manitoba head to court this week to lead a class action lawsuit against Canada for its failure to provide safe and adequate on-reserve housing. . . . . . . Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: A look at Monday night's federal election, a vote which saw the Liberal Party extend its decade-long run as government and 11 Indigenous MPs elected.
Our lead story: reaction to last night's Canadian federal election results, which saw the return of a Liberal minority government under new leader Mark Carney, with a number of races still too close to call.
Our lead story: ahead of today's nation-wide vote, Liberal leader Mark Carney takes part in an online forum with First Nations chiefs, while leader Pierre Poilievre visits Saskatoon to share his Conservative government's plan for its first 100 days if elected.
Our lead story: with the official vote just 72 hours away, a profile of the candidates running against front runners Liberal Mark Carney and Conservative Pierre Poilievre in adjacent Ontario ridings.
Our lead story: four days from election day, a profile of newly-formed federal riding Sault Ste. Marie–Algoma, an area that's especially felt the effects of the ongoing trade dispute with the United States. . . . . . . Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: with 5 days ‘til election day, our campaign coverage continues with riding profiles of Thunder Bay–Superior North (northwestern Ontario) and Northwest Territories, two large electoral districts with significant Indigenous voting populations.
Our lead story: Indigenous reaction and reflection following news of the passing of 88-year-old Pope Francis, whose legacy includes a historic apology for abuses against residential school survivors at church-operated institutions. ====== Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: recaps and reaction to the French and English national leaders debates recently held in Montreal.
Our lead story: RCMP reveal 53-year-old Chief Donald Smoke of Dakota Plains First Nation—located just southwest of Portage La Prairie, MB—now stands charged with two counts of sexual assault dating back to last summer.
This episode, profiles of three federal ridings where Indigenous votes could make the difference between winning and losing: Kenora Kiiwetinoog (ON), Vancouver Quadra (BC), and the Yukon.
Our lead story: a profile of the candidates in Winnipeg Centre—a federal electoral district with a high percentage of Indigenous voters—one of 36 such ‘swing vote' ridings identified by the Assembly of First Nations. . . . . . . . Interstitial: ZapSplat.com
Our lead story: tensions have boiled over between the Mohawk Council of Kanehsatà:ke and ousted Grand Chief Victor Bonspille, who alleges MCK misspent federal pandemic relief money.
Our lead story: the city of Saskatoon hosts campaign stops by both Liberal leader Mark Carney and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh Wednesday night, in a province where five ridings are said to feature sizable Indigenous voter populations.
Our lead story: First Nations organizers in Sault Ste. Marie, ON hope the significant Indigenous voting population in the area comes out on election day later this month.
Our lead story: with the deadline for candidate nominations now passed, we look at the nearly three-dozen Indigenous people running for Parliament with under 3 weeks to go in Canada's federal election.
Our lead story: Liberal leader Mark Carney distances himself from the recently-reported views of his late father—describing some non-English-speaking First Nations kids as "culturally retarded children”—comments he made as an Indian day school principal in 1965. - - - - - - Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: a new report by the Métis National Council—a document which the MNC says suggests the existence of seven Ontario Métis communities—draws fire from critics like the MMF and Chiefs of Ontario. . . . . . . . Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: Prime Minister Mark Carney pauses his campaign to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump's new global, "liberation day" tariffs, informing Canadians “times will be tough… now that the U.S. is no longer a reliable trade partner.” . . . . . . . Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh's Winnipeg campaign stop includes meetings with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and Keewatin Tribal Council.
Among our top stories: The recently-announced search for human remains at a second Winnipeg area landfill sparks calls to include Tanya Nepinak, a First Nations woman who some believe ended up there over a decade ago. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: a Manitoba court begins to hear arguments for a $2.1B class action over the harms of the child and family services system, a lawsuit launched Oct. 2022 by a trio of First Nations in the province. . . . . . . Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: nearly two months since the death of Pinaymootang First Nation grandmother April Woodhouse, her family seeks more answers in the belief she died under suspicious circumstances.
Our lead story: parents of the late Ashlee Christine Shingoose—who, until recently, was known only as Mashkode Bizihiki' Ikwe (Buffalo Woman), victim of a convicted Winnipeg serial killer—speak to media about the confirmation of her identity. . . . . . . . Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: Winnipeg police confirm the identity of Mashkode Bizihiki'ikwe (aka Buffalo Woman) as that of Ashlee Christine Shingoose, one of four First Nations victims of a serial killer now serving a life sentence on four first-degree murder charges. . . . . . . Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: an expected update from Winnipeg police today on the investigation into Mashkode Bizihiki'ikwe—aka ‘Buffalo Woman,' one of four Indigenous victims of a convicted serial killer. . . . . . . . Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: as polls show Liberals and Conservatives in a dead heat early on in the federal campaign, Elections Canada Chief Electoral Officer Stephane Perrault says they've worked hard to better engage Indigenous voters this time around.
Our lead story: the RCMP Major Crimes Unit in Saskatchewan investigates a “suspicious” death at Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation, the scene of a quadruple homicide only last month. - - - - - - - - Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: the Manitoba Advocate For Children and Youth (MACY) releases a new statement renewing its call for greater action by the province against child sexual exploitation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: the Southern Chiefs Organization says the costs to re-develop the iconic downtown Winnipeg Hudson's Bay Building under the Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn project have now doubled. - - - - - - - - Interstitial: zapsplat.com
Our lead story: Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney stops in Nunavut to announce over $250 million in new infrastructure, along with nearly $420 million for Canadian Armed Forces in the region to promote Arctic sovereignty.
Our lead story: RCMP confirm the second set of human remains found at a Winnipeg-area landfill late last month are those of 26-year-old Marcedes Myran, one of four Indigenous victims of a convicted serial killer.
On today's episode, Cierra Bettens, an APTN News reporter based in Winnipeg (and sometimes fill-in host here on the Brief). We learn not only about her journey to the network, but also her role on the brand new podcast, APTN News InFocus. Music: “fade” by snoozy beats (CC BY)