Former Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin joined Rebecca Chartrand, Liberal candidate for Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, to kick off her campaign in Cross Lake on Aug. 17. The two co-hosted a campaign fundraiser at Fort Garry Place in Winnipeg.

Senior science advisor John Werring of the David Suzuki Foundation conducted tests in July that showed high levels of contamination—higher than the BC Contaminated Sites Regulations—where biosolids in the Nicola Valley were dumped. He supports the protest of biosolid dumping by the Lower Nicola Indian Band. “The independent tests confirm that biosolids must not be applied to land,” said Chief Aaron Sam. “Biosolids contaminate our lands and waters, and it has serious potential negative effects on fish, animals and plants. First Nations people are reliant on the land for food and medicines.

A decision by the Ministry of Children and Families to appeal a BC Supreme Court decision that found ministry staff disregarded the safety of children from a Vancouver family, exposing the children to an abusive situation, including sexual abuse, has “deeply disappointed” the First Nations Summit, reads a release. “This appeal clearly reflects continued bad decision-making by the Minister and senior MCFD bureaucrats,” said Cheryl Casimer of the Summit.

A new agreement will allow Wei Wai Kum First Nation to harvest almost 9,900 cubic metres of timber per year from their traditional territories. The 25-year First Nations woodland licence was signed by Chief Robert Pollard and Steve Thompson, minister of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations. “We have enjoyed success with a variety of economic development projects, including the Discovery Harbour Marina and Shopping Centre, House of Treasures native art and gift shop and the Thunderbird Campground,” said Pollard.

A First Nations burial site has been protected and the construction of a retirement home in the Gulf Islands has come to an end. 

Of the B.C. Nations that have filed information under federal transparency rules, there are 55 chiefs that received compensation of less than $50,000 for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015. Only about a dozen chiefs earned compensation of more than $100,000. The chief of Bridge River Indian Band near Lillooet, population 457, earned less than $15,000, the lowest in the range of compensation. The highest was more than $200,000 for Gwawaenuk Tribe near Port McNeill on Vancouver Island. The average compensation for chiefs is $60,000, not including expenses.

Members of the Union of B.C. Municipalities will vote at their annual meeting Sept. 23 to Sept. 25 on whether to lobby the province for an expanded review of the Site C dam.  The City of Victoria has submitted a resolution to advocate for such a review and wants to know the “potential impact on BC Hydro ratepayers and provincial taxpayers” and on agriculture, the environment, and Aboriginal and municipal interests.

The West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations of Treaty 8 continue their fight against construction of the Site C dam. They are attempting to save thousands of hectares of old-growth forest and the eagle habitat located there. B.C. Supreme Court heard that Site C would cause “irreparable harm” to the two northeastern British Columbia First Nations. Their lawyer wants a stop-work order issued for the $9-billion hydroelectric project on the Peace River.

The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples received funding from Status of Women Canada for a project to engage men and boys in the prevention of violence toward Aboriginal women. “This project will engage both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal men and boys across Canada to address violence against Aboriginal women and girls,” said CAP Vice-Chief Ron Swain. The organization will deliver a toolkit for community use and create an annual awareness-raising event for men to step forward and take responsibility for addressing violence against Aboriginal women, he continued.

A new technique has been applied to the ear bone of Arctic Grayling and Slimy Sculpin which measures heavy metal concentrations in fish. Dr. Norman Halden from the University of Manitoba developed the technique of fish otolith microchemistry and the Yukon Research Centre, Access Consulting Group, and Na-cho Nyak Dun First Nation applied it on fish from the Keno Hill mining district. “This technique has the potential to provide First Nations, regulators, and other Northerners with robust data to inform land and water decisions in Yukon,” said Dr.