A remote Cree community on the shores of James Bay has declared a state of emergency after its water treatment plant failed this week — a crisis residents say the federal government is responding to far too slowly.  Kashechewan First Nation, home to around 2,300 people alongside the Albany River in Ontario’s northern region, is […]

Rural municipalities, Indigenous organizations and civil society groups are calling for changes to ensure people in remote parts of Canada receive emergency alerts during a crisis. The suggestions to the federal communication regulator are aimed at closing gaps in the National Public Alerting System — more commonly known as Alert Ready — which delivers urgent […]

The fumes coming through the walls of Neskantaga First Nation’s nursing station warned of a crisis with a familiar smell. Diesel wafted from the flooded basement, a stench so strong it made people sick with headaches and nausea, residents said.  After they detected the scent, the building was shut down and with it the community’s […]

I. THE WARNING The ancestors knew. First Nation elders understood the south would march north eventually. They knew it would come in waves, sometimes slow, sometimes fast. Those ancestors told their kids, who told theirs, and so on until today. The south has already carved many changes. Decades ago, Webequie First Nation and Neskantaga First […]

The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations chided the federal government Monday for failing to deliver on its promise to introduce legislation to declare First Nations policing an essential service. Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak told MPs on the House of Commons Indigenous affairs committee that the failure of governments to equally fund First Nations […]

The president of the group representing local governments in British Columbia says she welcomes proposed changes that would make it easier for First Nations and municipalities to meet behind closed doors. Cori Ramsay, president of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, said her group and First Nations requested the changes, saying they give nations “the […]

An advocacy group representing First Nations in Saskatchewan is firing back after a forensic audit found more than $34 million in questionable, unsupported or ineligible spending over five years. The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations responded to the results of a recent forensic audit saying it has a robust system of financial management, accountability and […]

Underwater noise is a serious threat to endangered Southern Resident killer whales, as ship and ferry traffic intensifies through some of the busiest waters off Vancouver Island. With ship traffic surging following the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline — and set to grow even more following a port expansion at Roberts Bank, south of […]

The First Nations Health Authority in British Columbia says online hackers gained access to an array of personal information including medical test results and insurance claims during a cybersecurity breach last May. The health authority says it has concluded its investigation and “the impact of the cybersecurity incident is not the same for everyone.” But […]

OTTAWA — The federal government does not have a willing partner to find a way to introduce fire codes on First Nation reserves, a newly released document shows. The senior director for the Indigenous Fire Marshal Service, however, says there are steps Ottawa can take now to better protect communities. “Doing nothing is not an […]

A report of a suspect vehicle in Saskatchewan’s capital hours after a stabbing rampage on a First Nation some 300 kilometres away suddenly pulled city officers into the investigation and kept residents on edge for days. The sighting “swiftly brought us into the unexpected storm,” Regina police Chief Evan Bray would later say in an […]