Ontario Birchbark

The University of Toronto has received an anonymous donation of $5 million for the improvement of Indigenous education and research. The money is expected to contribute towards policy changes and a greater focus on literacy during its first year. It is also expected to aid new partnerships among Aboriginal communities, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations to improve…

Sioux Lookout, Lac Seul First Nation and Kitchenuhmaykoosib will be collaborating on a joint project for a regional distribution centre to address issues of food insecurity and health in the far north. The partners will have access to $48,000 in grants and facilitation supports through the First Nations – Municipal Community Economic Development Initiative. Through CEDI, the three communities…

Details for the Aboriginal Economic Development Fund, which is a three-year, $25-million initiative to support business, employment and training opportunities in First Nation communities have been released. There will be three funding streams: a Business and Community Fund to help create economic opportunities; Economic Diversification Grants†to enable First Nation communities to diversify;…

Representatives from Aboriginal communities, as well as the Law Society of Upper Canada and Legal Aid Ontario, are part of a 12-member advisory group set up in response to a recommendation of former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci’s 2013 report on Aboriginal representation on juries. Iacobucci found the relationship between the justice system and First Nation was “quite frankly in crisis…

The Saugeen Ojibway Nations have made their opposition known to the panel considering a proposal for a nuclear waste storage site near Kincardine. Ontario Power Generation and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission say the plan to bury 200,000 cubic metres of low and intermediate-level radioactive waste in a layer of limestone 680 metres deep is sound and they have backing from Kincardine town…

Aboriginal artist and 2013 Sobey Art Award winner Duane Linklater’s work Tautology was unveiled Sept. 25 at the MacLaren Art Centre, in Barrie. The gallery received $24,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts through the 2014 York Wilson Prize, which enabled it to acquire Linklater’s new work.

Ontario’s new Poverty Reduction Strategy is focused on ending homelessness and providing a stable foundation to help people rise out of poverty. The strategy will invest in initiatives that are evidence-based and measurable, so that Ontario can track its progress and get the best possible results for people. Realizing Our Potential recommits to reducing child poverty by 25 per cent. It will…

Carleton will be the first university in Canada to offer an Aboriginal research ethics program in 2015. Organizers recently conducted a two-day pilot that brought Aboriginal community members, researchers and representatives of granting organizations together. The result will be a 10-day institute to help academics and others implement ethical practices when working with Aboriginal communities…

Attawapiskat First Nation Chief Theresa Spence was among those First Nations leaders to appear before the Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, which is conducting a study on challenges relating to First Nations infrastructure on reserves. In October 2011, Spence declared a state of emergency in Attawapiskat in response to dropping temperatures and the health risk presented by inadequate…

Wabauskang First Nation has asked the Ontario Court of Appeal to hear its challenge of the recent decision dismissing Wabauskang’s lawsuit against the Ontario government over its approval of Rubicon Minerals’ proposed Phoenix Gold Mine near Red Lake. “Our Treaty rights and our relationship and responsibilities with our lands and territory must be respected,” said Wabauskang Chief…

Chiefs from the Robinson-Huron Treaty territory, acting on behalf of 30,000 beneficiaries of the 1850 Robinson-Huron Treaty, filed a Statement of Claim Sept. 9 naming Canada and Ontario in the longstanding failure of the Crown to raise annuities as agreed under the Treaty. “Our people have exhausted their patience waiting for the Crown to act honourably, they want their fair share and they…

Nearly half of the 133 First Nations in Ontario currently have boil water advisories, and it has been more than 10 years since 10 First Nations in northwestern Ontario had clean drinking water. In an email response to a CBC interview, a spokesperson for Health Canada said, in part, “In addition to the measures regarding water quality sampling, monitoring and surveillance programs... Health…

The Indigenous Line Crew Ground Support graduates were honoured in a ceremony Sept. 12, after completing 15 weeks of training through the Wabnode Centre for Aboriginal Services and Cambrian College. Eighty per cent of the graduates have secured employment.

Camp Loon, located in the bush north of Geraldton, provided eight days of advanced training for 160 Junior Rangers from 20 First Nations, with an emphasis on safety on the land and water and in personal lifestyles. The camp has been held annually since 2000. The Junior Canadian Rangers is a national program run by the Canadian Army for boys and girls ages 12 to 18 in remote communities across…

Jason Madden, partner with Pape Salter Teillet LLP of Toronto, has been named by Canadian Lawyer magazine as one of the Top 25 Most Influential in the justice system. Madden was recognized as one of five in the category of Criminal Law/Human Rights for his work on behalf of the Metis people of Canada and his work in the Daniels V. Canada case.  “Inclusion in the Top 25 talks to a level of…