APTN News Brief

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.

Our lead story: Nunavummiut rally in Iqaluit to make their support known for Greenlanders—or Kalaallit Inuit—in the face of annexation threats from the United States. >Interstitial: zapsplat.com

Our lead story: Nunavut's premier speaks out in solidarity with Greenland, the Danish territory U.S. President Donald Trump continues to threaten with annexation.

Our lead story: the trial of an RCMP officer charged with assaulting a Mi'kmaw woman wraps up in Woodstock, New Brunswick.

Our featured story: a series of profane, threatening voicemails allegedly left by an elected official with Métis Nation–Saskatchewan are made public.  

Our lead story: after a meeting this week with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Prince Rupert, Coastal First Nations maintain their opposition to a proposed Alberta/B.C. pipeline that would lift a ban on oil tankers on the province's north coast.  

Our lead story: the family of Trevor Dubois—a First Nations chemotherapy patient who died after an altercation with a Saskatoon hospital security guard—hold a press conference calling for answers and justice.

Our lead story: the federal government announces the Canadian military will be deployed to assist Pimicikamak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba, where much of its housing was damaged due to a late-December power outage. >Interstitial: zapsplat.com

Our lead story: Kashechewan, a fly-in only First Nation near James Bay in northern Ontario, plans for evacuation after its water treatment system stopped working over the weekend.

Our lead story: a search of the Thunder Bay landfill for the partial remains of murder victim Deborah Anishinabie is wrapped up after it fails to produce any additional evidence.

Our lead story: claiming an upcoming Alberta referendum on separation would violate Treaty 8, Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation files suit against the provincial government.

Our lead story: following four straight days without power during the holidays, officials from Pimicikamak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba say they are not out of the woods yet.

Our lead story: The National Children's Chiefs Commission and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society claim their plan for long-term First Nations child welfare reform is more thorough than the federal government's. NOTE: APTN NEWS BRIEF WILL BE ON HIATUS OVER THE HOLIDAYS, RETURNING TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2026. MUSIC: 'Abundance' by 1000 Handz is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.

Our lead story: the Carney government submits its new plan for long-term reform of the First Nations child and family services program to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, pledging $35.5 billion to the end of 2034, then $4.4 billion annually after that.

Our lead story: the Saskatchewan Health Authority says the security guards who evicted an Indigenous man from a Prince Albert hospital out into the cold are now barred from work at any SHA facility.

Our lead story: the same day Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford sign an agreement meant to speed up construction of major projects in the province, Treaty 9 First Nations hold a press conference on their lawsuit against such fast-tracking.

Our lead story: a major Mi'kmaw-led, Aboriginal title claim in the works at Sipekne'katik First Nation in Nova Scotia, the scope of which would include a good chunk of the province.

Our lead story: a Mi'kmaw organization representing over 60 cannabis retailers in Nova Scotia meets to strategize on a provincial crackdown on their operations.

Our lead story: a decade after the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was released, some mark the anniversary with reflection and renewed calls to tackle residential school denialism. 

Our lead story: RCMP in northern Manitoba arrest 27 people and lay 51 drug trafficking related charges under the police operation known as Project Derry.

Our lead story: Treaty 8 First Nations leaders gather in Ottawa to voice their opposition to a recently signed federal/Alberta MOU promoting a future tar sands pipeline to B.C.'s west coast, a proposal they were not consulted on.