Bennett in Enoch Cree Nation on MMIW pre-inquiry

February 10, 2016

Onion Lake and Poundmaker Cree Nations filed a class action lawsuit Monday against the federal government claiming $3 billion in damages and alleging “a continuing breach of fiduciary duty and negligence on the part of the federal government.”

“For many years the federal government has controlled the exploitation of oil and gas rights on First Nation reserves. The federal government has botched this important responsibility,” said Onion Lake Chief Wallace Fox in a written statement.

Exhibit brings attention to murdered, missing Indigenous women

Kwikwetlem First Nation has filed an Aboriginal title and rights and Charter claim with the B.C. Supreme Court in an effort to ensure its title and rights over key areas in its traditional territory.

Kwikwetlem has traditional territory around the watershed of the Coquitlam River, which the Nation says has seen significant development over many years, with no end in sight.

British Columbia is moving away from the over-used practise of granting Aboriginal high school students Evergreen completion certificates instead of graduating them with Dogwood diplomas, and that will have an impact all the way down to kindergarten, said Tyrone McNeil, president of the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC).

February 9, 2016

Poundmaker’s Lodge is calling for First Nations and allies to close their accounts and boycott TD Canada Trust.

“Take your valuable business elsewhere,” said Executive Director Brad Cardinal. Poundmaker’s Lodge, a long time client of TD Canada Trust, has begun steps to close off its accounts following an incident on Feb. 5 that the board is referring to as discriminatory.

Last Friday, RCMP responded to a call from the TD Canada Trust branch on St. Albert Trail for a possible bank robbery.

First Nations discuss role in Canada’s energy future at forum

Deborah Ginnish knows the importance of having families listened to before the federal government undertakes the national inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls.

Last week, Ginnish travelled from her home on the Membertou First Nation in Nova Scotia to be part of a forum conducted by the Assembly of First Nations on the Enoch Cree Nation in Alberta.

The result of that forum will be a report the AFN will present to the federal government Feb. 15 laying out the conditions that need to be met if this inquiry hopes to be successful.

At a meeting of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition held in Terrace on Feb. 4 and Feb. 5., representatives from 27 First Nations discussed the possibility of a First Nations-led environmental assessment process for major industrial projects, reads a press statement Feb. 8 from the group’s Coalition and Steering Committee.
The group says it is made up of nations who have agreed to work together to develop common approaches to strengthen capacity of communities impacted by major project development. No list of the nations involved with the group was included with the release.