So Canada, now do you see what kind of government we’ve been dealing with all these years?

Nasty, menacing and scheming, with a blind devotion to a political master, ideological enslavement, accuser-judge-jury-and-executioner, tyrannical, odious, abusers of power, intimidation, radical responses, double standards, duplicitous, fair processes denied at every turn, the kind of abuse one might attribute to Iran or Iraq or under the Putin regime of Russia.

For the first time since its inception five years ago, the Toronto International Microfinance Summit, held in Toronto on Oct. 5, shone a light on First Nations and Aboriginal peoples.

Summit Vice-President and Co-Chair Jim Louttit thinks it’s about time.

He’s also the Chair and President of the Rotarian Action Group for Microfinance and Community Development and has seen the benefits of microfinance first-hand in the developing world.

More than an actor, star was devoted to making a difference in people’s lives

When Jimmy Herman played enigmatic fur trapper Joe Gomba in the CBC series North of 60 his portrayal came almost effortlessly.
The soft-spoken actor was authentic to the core; tucked into his parents’ dogsled as a baby on their trapline in northeastern Alberta, growing up outdoors hunting moose and snaring rabbits.

A new exhibit at the Telus World of Science in Edmonton is recognizing traditional knowledge as more than stories. By including “Elders as Scientists” as a permanent feature in the Syncrude Environment Gallery, the observations of three Lutsël K’e Dene First Nation residents about the changes in their landscape is being viewed on par with data gathered by western scientists.

Devin Buffalo is no longer a goaltender that nobody wants.
In fact, the 20-year-old, from the Samson Cree Nation in Hobbema, Alta., is a star junior puckstopper. And he’s got a rather bright future as well.

Next year Buffalo will head to a prestigious Ivy League school—New Hampshire’s Dartmouth College—to continue his hockey and academic careers. And he’s hoping to play at the professional level once his collegiate days are complete.

Asham demoted
It remains to be seen whether Arron Asham has played his final National Hockey League game. The 35-year-old Métis from Portage La Prairie, Man. is in his 16th pro season.

Asham started the 2013-14 campaign with the NHL’s New York Rangers, but after playing three games with the Rangers the club placed him on waivers.

Racism leads to poor treatment in major Canadian hospitals

It is only the second ruling made by the Specific Claims Tribunal, but the federal government has appealed the decision and forced a judicial review.

“If we don’t fight the appeal, it’ll set a precedent and the precedent will be that all they have to do is appeal every ruling that’s ever made,” said Mel Bevan, negotiator with Kitselas Treaty Office. “All they have to do is say, ‘No,’ to every Specific Claim and force us to take it to tribunal. And if the judge rules in our favour they simply appeal it and that’s the end of it. That is something we can’t allow to happen.”

First Nations need to step up to be involved in the decision-making process regarding resource development in B.C.

“We’re in the game, whether we like it or not,” said Carrier Sekani Tribal Council Chief Terry Teegee. “The quicker we deal with each other and build our relationships, the better off we are.”

Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde says there was no other place to be than in London, England when the British Royal Proclamation marked its 250th anniversary.

“It was very important … because we wanted to mark that date, mark and show we still have a relationship with the Crown, but more importantly the Royal Proclamation is important to us as treaty people because that was the first time the Crown recognized our title to lands and territories.”