Months after a soil sampling attempt led to aggression against two Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK) chiefs, prompting Quebec’s environment ministry to cancel the tests, the province has enacted interventions on dumping that could lead to massive fines. Kanehsata’kehró:non have long watched helplessly as hundreds of dump trucks a day have streamed into Kanesatake, bringing […]

After demands for a meeting with government officials went unheeded, a group of Oka residents pledging solidarity with Kanesatake whistleblowers are taking a step closer to enacting checkpoints to stop dump trucks carrying potentially contaminated soil from entering the territory. Other types of traffic would be allowed to pass, the group has said. “I think […]

The number of wildfire evacuees in Brandon has reached about 1,000 people, according to Mayor Jeff Fawcett. That’s about five times the last figure provided by the Red Cross, which told the Sun on Aug. 7 that around 200 evacuees were staying in Brandon. At that time, there were evacuees in Brandon from Manto Sipi […]

Since becoming available in 2017, Mifegymiso, commonly called the abortion pill, has transformed reproductive health care in Canada. Before the drug’s legalization, medical abortion was a relatively rare procedure, and surgical abortion services were often only available through hospitals and specialized clinics in major urban centres. Because any physician or nurse practitioner in Alberta can […]

The County of Stettler council agreed to send its concerns about a rural physician shortage across Alberta to a lobby group. The decision was made at the Aug. 14 regular meeting of council. On the “council’s request for information” part of the agenda Coun. Justin Stevens asked his peers to consider approving a formal resolution […]

An injured black bear in Coquitlam was killed by BC Conservation officers last week, after Burke Mountain residents had been feeding it for several days. Coquitlam RCMP and BC Conservation Services (BC COS) sent out a press release on Aug. 16, reminding the public to not feed bears and to keep their distance in the […]

Rocky Simpson is facing over $200,000 in tax arrears related to properties owned by his businesses in Hay River.  Simpson, a former Hay River South MLA and the father of current NWT Premier R.J. Simpson, is the owner of two companies based in Hay River: Concept Consulting Ltd. and Concept Energy Services Ltd. Concept Consulting […]

The federal government says Canada’s appeal as an international tourist destination has been damaged by the 2023 forest fire season, which was the country’s most destructive on record. Foreign spending in Canada dropped in 2023 over pre-pandemic levels, according to documents obtained by Canada’s National Observer through the Access to Information and Privacy Act. In […]

A whistleblower who played a key role raising the alarm of the health risks posed by the oilsands has a new concern — this time in his own backyard.  Dr. John O’Connor is campaigning with fellow concerned citizens against the use of the insecticide rotenone to rid Edmonton waters of invasive goldfish that have been […]

GUYSBOROUGH — The Nova Scotia RCMP is warning citizens about a phone fraud that’s spreading through communities across the province, in which victims are pressed to provide money to allegedly bail out loved ones in distress. Guysborough RCMP District Commander Sgt. Natasha Farrell said, so far, she hasn’t received any reports of the so-called “grandparent” […]

John O’Connor recalls when Indigenous harvesters brought in crates and crates of deformed fish that were kept on ice piled high in the band office. That was decades ago, when O’Connor was fresh in the region as a physician, making trips north to provide health care to Indigenous communities living downstream from the oilsands. During […]

The phone call to the B.C. premier’s office came on a Saturday in May 2023, one day after a scathing  inspection report detailed multiple environmental infractions along the  route of a major gas pipeline under construction in the province. The report,  issued by the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office, outlined damage to  sensitive wetlands and other […]