Ontario Birchbark

The Chippewas of the Thames First Nation has filed a request to the Federal Court of Appeal seeking leave to appeal the National Energy Board’s approval of Enbridge’s Line 9 pipeline project. Enbridge wants to reverse the flow of Line 9 and increase its capacity from 240,000 barrels a day to 300,000. The 38-year-old pipeline runs between Sarnia and Montreal and will carry crude oil from…

Eabametoong First Nation, a fly-in community, will be getting a new police facility to replace the existing detachment. The federal government has committed $1.82 million for this project, while the province has anted up $1.68 million. As part of that agreement, Ontario will invest $173.2 million over five years. Funding has come through under the First Nations Policing Program, which provides…

“We need high-level action from government and industry that brought these contaminants into our territories. We need them to take responsibility for cleanup,” said Ontario Regional Chief Stan Beardy following a recent two-day Chiefs of Ontario Contaminant Workshop held in Timmins. “While new business in forestry, natural gas, energy and mining are being considered, the mess left behind on our…

First Nations members and other organizations were out in protest at the open forum held in Thunder Bay on April 9 and 10 for the TransCanada Energy East Pipeline proposal. The proposed 4,600-kilometre pipeline is expected to carry 1.1 million barrels of crude oil daily across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario to reach refineries in Quebec and New Brunswick. The pipeline routes will…

Writer,
scholar, storyteller and activist for Indigenous Peoples Leanne Simpson is the
recipient of the inaugural RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award. Simpson was
nominated for the award by Thomas King whose book, The Inconvenient Indian: A
Curious Account of Native People in North America, won the 2014 RBC Taylor
Prize. The RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award, which…

Rich Francis, Gwich'in and
Haudenosaunee from the N.W.T., owns and operates a culinary business on the Six
Nations reserve. He is one of 14 competitors in Top Chef Canada, which kicked
off its fourth season in March exclusively on Food Network Canada. Francis
cooks with ingredients that are indigenous to Canada. “The vastness of
Aboriginal food on Turtle Island is…

Anishinabek Nation Lake
Huron Grand Chief Isadore Day told Prospectors and Developers Association of
Canada conference-goers in early March that no mining venture will succeed
without First Nations participation at the earliest stages. “It is time for a
real relationship with First Nations with Ontario’s mining sector,” said Day in
a news release. “The approach of…

The Alderville First Nation
will become the first First Nation in Canada to fully-own an alternative energy
project. The five-megawatt Alderville Solar Farm, which has received $1.25
million from the federal government, is expected to provide employment for 25
members during the construction phase and additional employment once
operational. The project could…

Via Rail was forced to
charter 100 buses to move 5,000 passengers when protestors blockaded the
railroad tracks on March 19 near the Tyendinaga Mohawk reserve, at Marysville
between Belleville and Kingston. The Montreal-Toronto Via Rail line, which
impacted its trains on the Toronto-Montreal and Toronto-Ottawa routes, was
blocked for most of the day as a dozen…

Novelist
and short-story writer Joseph Boyden is one of five individuals who will
receive honorary degrees at Trent University’s 47th Convocation ceremonies to
be held in June.
Photo: Norman Wong

Joseph Boyden will be
honoured at the June 3 convocation for Trent University with a Doctor of
Letters degree for achievements in literature…

Six Nations of the Grand
River opened its new water treatment plant at the end of January. The federal
government provided more than $26 million towards the construction of the $41.4
million project and Six Nations of the Grand River invested approximately
$15.4. “This project is very important for the future economic growth and
development opportunities in our…

The Mental Health and
Innovation Fund and Mental Health Commission of Canada will partner with Canadore
College to develop the first Aboriginal language-specific mental health first
aid program in Canada. The unique mental health first aid program aims to
improve mental health literacy, and provide the skills and knowledge to help
people better manage…

In a recent panel
discussion, the Toronto Region Board of Trade joined with Kellie Leitch,
minister of labour and minister of Status of Women, to emphasize new employment
opportunities for Canadians in the growing extractive industry. “The extractive
industry is poised for significant and sustained growth, especially in the North.
To take advantage of our…

Recent Order of Ontario
recipients Ronald Common and Allison Fisher have worked tirelessly to support
equal opportunities for First Nations people, said Anishinabek Nation Grand
Council Chief Patrick Madahbee. Common, who is currently president of Sault
College, worked extensively with Aboriginal communities throughout Canada
creating First Nations school…

Pictured is ranger Abraham
Metatawabin with Canadian Rangers and military officers after receiving his
first clasp for long military service.

Members of 3rd Canadian
Ranger Patrol Group (3 CRPG) presented 92-year-old Ranger Abraham Metatawabin
with the first clasp to his Canadian Forces’ Decoration in a ceremony on Jan.
30. The ceremony to place at…