The capital city of Nunavut is gearing up to host a portion of this year’s Arctic Winter Games.

The majority of the Games, which run from March 6 to March 11, will be staged in Nuuk, Greenland.

But since there are no suitable rinks to stage the hockey competition in Greenland, Games’ organizers opted to move the hockey portion of the event to Iqaluit, Nunavut’s largest city.

Iqaluit is slightly more than 800 kilometres away from Nuuk.

New BC Aboriginal Awards

Aboriginal youth athletes in British Columbia now have a new achievement to strive for. The Aboriginal Sport Recreation and Physical Activity Partners Council and the Province of B.C. have joined forces to establish a new awards program.

A total of 12 Premier’s Awards for Aboriginal Youth Excellence in Sports will be handed out annually, starting this year. There will be six female and six male recipients each year.

Suicide epidemic needs to be addressed

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler issued a call to action to the governments of Ontario and Canada to establish a special emergency task force to address the growing suicide epidemic across NAN First Nations. Several NAN First Nations were thrown into crisis this Christmas season following the suicides of a 10-year-old girl in Bearskin Lake First Nation, a 20-year-old woman in Fort Albany First Nation, and a 14-year-old girl in Neskantaga First Nation.

Province’s plan on education not working

A 50-page report from Auditor General Norm Ricard says that despite years of effort, the provincial government still has not identified the barriers Aboriginal students face in finishing Grade 12.

Angelique EagleWoman has been appointed dean of Lakehead University’s Bora Laskin faculty of law. She is the first Indigenous dean of a Canadian law school. The Indigenous Bar Association in Canada says Bora Laskin faculty of law’s actions, which also include the introduction of mandatory courses on Indigenous legal traditions and Canadian laws applied to Aboriginal peoples, demonstrate the school’s commitment to implement the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has provided the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation with $45,000 to assist its participation in the environmental assessment of the Goliath Gold Project.

The funding will enable participation in the upcoming steps of the environmental assessment, which include reviewing and providing comments on the environmental impact statement or on the summary, the draft environmental assessment report, and on potential environmental assessment conditions.

Next fall, Trent University will offer an Indigenous bachelor of education degree program. The new program is partly in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report last summer that called on all levels of government to change policies to repair problems caused by residential schools. The report also recommended that students be taught about the history and current plight of First Nations, Métis and Inuit.

The Chippewas of the Thames First Nation is asking the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to appeal a lower court’s decision and allow the First Nation to take action against Enbridge Inc., the National Energy Board and the Attorney General of Canada over Line 9, which runs between Sarnia, Ont., and Montreal. At the heart of its legal case is a question over the duty of the Crown to consult and accommodate First Nations on concerns related to the potential effects of the pipeline on their Aboriginal and treaty rights.

The Moose Cree First Nation and the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service have entered into a memorandum of understanding highlighting their joint commitment to fight drug trafficking. MCFN said it could wait no longer for the federal government to give more funding to First Nations policing and has gone ahead with funding for two NAPS officer positions for one year. The new positions will focus specifically on prevention, and investigating drug offences. NAPS will provide training and equipment. Chief Norm Hardisty Jr.

The Kahkewistahaw First Nation has implemented a community improvement fee. The KCIF is set at five per cent, the same rate as the GST, and will be administered by the Canada Revenue Agency. The money raised will go toward local improvements. “It is our hope that the funds generated by our community improvement fee will bring much-needed benefits to our community and our members,” said Chief Louis Taypotat. The KCIF will operate on reserve following the same basic guidelines of the GST and the Harmonized Sales Tax and will apply to everyone except some outside governments.