The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and ESS Support Services (a member of Compass Group Canada) have honoured Chief Darcy Bear and entrepreneur Jacob Pratt. The 2016 Aboriginal Business Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award went to Whitecap Dakota First Nation Chief Darcy Bear, recognizing him for developing a financial management plan that led to the development of a self-governing land code. It enabled the community to sell long-term lease hold interests which resulted in the funds needed to spur development and the creation of a golf course and infrastructure.

The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, Offset Market Exchange Inc., and the Saskatchewan First Nations Natural Resource Centre of Excellence have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote Aboriginal business opportunities and Aboriginal employment in Canada. This first-of-its-kind partnership in Canada links Aboriginal-owned businesses to procurement opportunities in the public and private sectors. “By linking our organizations, we will be able to maximize the opportunities for Aboriginal businesses to compete and win new procurements,” said Nicole Verkindt, president of OMX.

An appeal by Douglas Hales of his murder conviction in the death of Daleen Bosse has been dismissed by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal in Regina. Hales was found guilty of strangling Bosse and burning her body near Martensville in 2004. Last December, he was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years. The move to appeal Hales’ conviction was based on a Supreme Court judge ruling that a “Mr. Big” sting operation, in which officers†pose as low-level criminals to get information, was inadmissible.

Black Lake First Nation community members have voted to move forward with the $630 million 50-MW Tazi Twe hydroelectric project, a joint venture with SaskPower. Of the 44 per cent of eligible voters, 63 per cent voted in favour of the project. “Many people have been working toward this day for many years,” said Chief Rick Robillard, of Black Lake First Nation, “and I’m happy to hear that our community is in support of Black Lake First Nation becoming proud owners in a profitable, long-term business.” The Tazi Twe project is a run-of-river scheme that will be constructed on reserve land.

Belinda Daniels from Sturgeon Lake First Nation is in the running to be named the world’s best teacher. She is one of 50 educators nominated for a $1 million (U.S.) award dubbed ‘the Nobel prize of teaching.’ The Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize†recognizes exceptional teachers making an outstanding contribution to the profession who have “transformed young peoples’ lives.” Daniels most recently taught at Mount Royal Collegiate in Saskatoon.

Two Saskatchewan MPs were among four to recognize in their Oath of Allegiance in Parliament the treaties signed with Indigenous nations. After giving the oath outlined in the Constitution, MPs Georgina Jolibois (DesnethÈ—Missinippi—Churchill River)†and Niki Ashton (Churchill) pledged the following oath: “And, I solemnly affirm that, in the carrying out of my duties, I shall honour and respect the treaties signed with Indigenous Peoples.” Also doing the same were MPs Pierre Nantel (Longueuil—Saint-Hubert) and Romeo Saganash (Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou).

Garnet Angeconeb, a community builder and an advocate for reconciliation, was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada on Nov. 30 and presented with his insignia by Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell. As a journalist and former councillor in Sioux Lookout, Angeconeb worked to promote his Anishinabek language and culture, and to foster intercultural dialogue between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities.

The Master Education Framework Agreement, recently signed by Education Minister Liz Sandals and Anishinabek Nation chiefs, is a formal agreement for the province and Anishinabek First Nations to collaborate on supporting Indigenous education in on-reserve and provincial schools. The goal of the agreement is to help strengthen education on Anishinabek history and culture in schools, bolster strategies for student success and well-being, and support transitions between reserve and provincial schools.

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce is calling on the province to create a revenue-sharing framework between government and First Nations “to provide certainty surrounding the benefits that these communities will gain from mineral resource development.” The chamber released its report earlier this month encouraging the government to do more in mining development in the province, including in the Ring of Fire. Chamber President Allan O’Dette said the Ring of Fire is critically important, but that this report is also about the broader mining sector, which is worth billions to the province.

Chapleau Cree First Nation has initialed an agreement to settle a long outstanding Treaty Land Entitlement claim with the governments of Canada and Ontario. The eight-year long negotiation has resulted in the addition of more than 9,100 acres of reserve land in the Chapleau, Ont. area, as well as a significant monetary compensation package to address loss of use. “Although I feel that we negotiated a very good overall settlement under this process, this still falls far short of what we lost as a people.