Members from Sakimay First Nation and the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council were among those to tour Parkland College’s new and improved Emergency Services Training Site in May. “We wanted to showcase what level of training we offer, and I think we opened some eyes,” said Shelley Cherney, Parkland College’s Coordinator of Emergency Services, in a news release. “This is the only full-time professional firefighter training program in Saskatchewan.

The mining industry can anticipate conflict with First Nations in the Ring of Fire region of Ontario if companies play by “old rules” and attempt to impose their will on communities, said Phil Fontaine, former Assembly of First Nations national chief.  “Resource interests should strive to negotiate with First Nations up front instead of the way it was done in the past, as an afterthought,” Fontaine told a crowd attending the Big Event mining expo in Timmins in June.

Though the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Women’s Circle Corporation was part of the seven years of talks that went into Bill S-2, the Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act, the group isn’t sure the new law will accomplish what it sets out to do. That’s because their input didn’t much make it into the Bill, said Judy Hughes, president of the SAWCC. The act provides rules for dividing property if a couple breaks up, divorces, or if one partner passes away. It also allows a provincial judge to issue a restraining order in cases of domestic violence.

Though the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Women’s Circle Corporation was part of the seven years of talks that went into Bill S-2, the Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act, the group isn’t sure the new law will accomplish what it sets out to do. That’s because their input didn’t much make it into the Bill, said Judy Hughes, president of the SAWCC. The act provides rules for dividing property if a couple breaks up, divorces, or if one partner passes away. It also allows a provincial judge to issue a restraining order in cases of domestic violence.

The United Church of Canada is joining the Native Women’s Association of Canada and the Assembly of First Nations in calling for the Canadian government to convene a national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls in Canada. And they want it as soon as possible. In a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Nora Sanders, General Secretary of the General Council wrote, “Clearly our justice and social systems are not offering adequate protection against violence for Indigenous women in this country.

The mining industry can anticipate conflict with First Nations in the Ring of Fire region of Ontario if companies play by “old rules” and attempt to impose their will on communities, said Phil Fontaine, former Assembly of First Nations national chief.  “Resource interests should strive to negotiate with First Nations up front instead of the way it was done in the past, as an afterthought,” Fontaine told a crowd attending the Big Event mining expo in Timmins in June.

The Parti Quebecois government's new bill on mining had angered First Nations. They said the Bill contravenes their rights and completely ignores issues relating to territory and resources. “The Canadian Constitution recognises the rights of the Aboriginal peoples. Whether it likes it or not, the provincial government must comply with it and fulfil its obligations,” said Chief Ghislain Picard of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec and Labrador.

Over the course of 26 days starting June 21, National Aboriginal Day, representatives of First Nations communities in Ontario are planning to walk the 1,200-kilometre distance around Georgian Bay to raise awareness of decreasing water levels. The Spirit Lake Water Walk – or Mnidoo Gaamining Bimooseyang, as it is called in Anishinabemowin – will start on Beausoleil First Nation territory in Tiny Township. “Our survival is completely dependent on water,” event organizers said in a press release. “This is an issue of humanity that will affect everyone who resides near these waters.