The Specific Claims Tribunal’s 2014 Annual Report was made public Nov. 14 and warned that understaffing and underfunding will impair the tribunal to function. The Specific Claims Tribunal was established to make final and binding decisions on specific land.

A New Brunswick First Nation says it needs $500,000 to repair roads, but the province isn’t listening, saying the problem is a federal responsibility. Chief David Peter-Paul of the Pabineau First Nation says he spoke with provincial officials many times and has shown them the conditions of the road, but the province isn’t offering up any money. “Anyone who has travelled through the Pabineau First Nation community can attest to the fact that the conditions of the roadways are horrific, to say the least,” said Peter-Paul.

British Columbia has developed a new online tool for businesses to help them prepare to tap into the “generational opportunities” that will be driven by the Liquefied Natural Gas industry. B.C. wants businesses large and small to be ready “and profile their goods and services to proponents and their contractors when the first Final Investment Decision is reached. Businesses create online profiles at LNGBuyBC.ca in the LNG-Buy BC online tool that will highlight their specialties, their certifications, and their contact information.

Kitsaki Development Corporation has acquired 25 per cent equity in the Saskatoon-based March Consulting Associates Inc., which will allow Kitsaki to access professional project engineering and management services in turn providing March with access to First Nations resources and services. “This partnership offers Kitsaki the opportunity to deliver more services to our clients and to tap into new markets that will allow us to grow the business,” said Russel Roberts, CEO of Kitsaki. Kitsaki is owned by Lac La Ronge Indian Band, the largest First Nation in Saskatchewan.

Yellow Quill First Nation plans to construct its first urban reserve project in Saskatoon in what is now a parking lot. The $40 million commercial and office building will have the First Nations Bank as its lead tenant. The building is to be constructed to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental) Gold Certification standards. It has been a four-year process but Yellow Quill has secured reserve status for the property and is looking to secure additional tenant leasing commitments before starting construction.

Whitecap Dakota First Nation and Saskatoon Public Schools have signed an education agreement that sees Whitecap Dakota Elementary School become an alliance school, making it the first on-reserve school to be a part of a Saskatchewan school division. The four-year agreement has federal funding for the education of Whitecap students flow to Saskatoon Public Schools. All Whitecap Dakota Elementary School teachers are now employed by Saskatoon Public Schools. The partnership agreement is in effect from Sept. 1, 2014 to Aug. 31, 2018, with provisions for renewal.

A hand-drawn map submitted anonymously and labelled “Location of Tamra Keepness, Check the Wells” was posted on the Reddit website. The investigation that ensued resulted in “nothing suspicious,” said Regina Police spokesperson Elizabeth Popowich. She said that investigators did not find the crudely drawn map, which appeared to show part of the Muscowpetung First Nation, to be authentic. The person who posted it says he or she does not have first-hand information about the case. Police believe Tamra, who disappeared from her home in an inner-city Regina neighbourhood in July 2004, is dead.

Métis veteran Alex Maurice, from Beauval, read the “Act of Remembrance” in Michif at the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa. It marked the first time the poem has been read at the national ceremony in an Aboriginal language. Maurice read the poem with Korean War veterans and Aboriginal veterans. The “Act of Remembrance,” an extract from the poem For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon, has been a staple at the national ceremony but up until this year it has been read in English and French. “It’s quite an honour and it’s something that my family feels good about,” Maurice said.

A birchbark canoe, made by Algonquin Elder William Commanda and presented to the Friends of Gatineau Park by the Waddell family, is now part of the National Capital Commission’s Gatineau Park Visitor Centre. The canoe was unveiled by Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Chief Gilbert Whiteduck, National Capital Commission Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mark Kristmanson, Claudette Commanda, Alexander Waddell and Sarah Crowe, of the Friends of Gatineau Park. Elder William Commanda crafted the canoe in 1988 and gifted it to Dr. Walter G. Waddell, the man he credited for having saved his life in the 1960s.

Northern College has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Greenstone Regional Skills Centre, which will see the college and skills centre collaborating to provide skills training programs in northwestern Ontario. The centre has a dedicated emphasis on training Aboriginal peoples. Northern College offers a wide variety of programming in areas relevant to industries in the Greenstone region, including mining and environmental sciences. The college delivers training at the preparatory, apprenticeship, post-secondary and graduate certificate levels.