Testimony wrapped up Friday at the coroner's inquest into the death of Colton Clarkin in July 2023, but the process will now stretch into an unplanned fourth day on Monday.

In their continued search for answers and justice, the family of Tanya Nepinak marched on the Manitoba Legislature on Friday with hopes of discussing the potential for an expanded search of the Brady road landfill with Premier Wab Kinew.

Friday’s rally comes on the heels of calls from the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs earlier this week that any humanitarian search effort of the Brady Road Landfill for Ashlee Shingoose, should also include Nepinak, who went missing in 2011.

“I told you auntie and mom wouldn’t give up, and you knew that didn’t you my girl,” said Nepinak’s aunt Sue Caribou, who has been demanding justice for her beloved niece for the past 14 years.

On Friday afternoon, she entered the Manitoba Legislature, and two hours later, emerged with a renewed hope after getting to meet with Premier Wab, as the group had marched to the Legislature with hope, but no guarantees of a meeting. 

While unable to get into specifics, Caribou and her friend Robyn Leanne said the Premier assured them that just like Shingoose, he couldn’t promise that he would find their loved one, but he would try. 

“I got to talk to the leader. Instead of: ‘make an appointment with my secretary and I’ll get back to you.’ That’s what the past leader said to me,” said Leanne. “He’s assured us he will try, they are going to need some time to figure out where she is.”

Leanne said while the group did ask for confirmation in writing, she said Premier Kinew said the group will have to take his word on the promise to examine what can be done to find and recover Nepinak’s remains. 

As for Caribou, who admitted she had never previously gotten past the front door of the Legislature, it was an overwhelming day knowing they are one step closer to bringing Tanya home.

“He actually listened to all my loved ones’ stories,” she said. “I’m overwhelmed, I’m still getting chills that we actually got somewhere this time.”

The post Premier Kinew meets with family of Tanya Nepinak appeared first on CityNews Winnipeg.

A Métis National Council (MNC) report suggesting the existence of seven Métis communities in Ontario has drawn the ire of three Métis governments and the Chiefs of Ontario.

On Thursday, the MNC published the 264-page report, “National Definition of Métis: A Review of Communities in Ontario”, assessing the legitimacy of seven Métis communities in Ontario.

“The Panel concludes that the Seven Communities represented by the Métis Nation of Ontario meet the National Definition established by the Métis National Council (MNC) and adopted by all current and former Governing Members (MMF, OMG, MN-S, MNO, MNBC) as well as recognized by other Métis governments (NWTMN),” the review states. “These communities also align with the parameters of Contemporary Governance.”

By Friday morning, the Métis Nation of British Columbia (MNBC), Métis Nation Saskatchewan (MN-S) and the Manitoba Métis Federation published statements opposing the report.

MNC panel suggests seven Métis communities in Ontario

 Margaret Froh, the president of the Métis Nation of Ontario, said the report is years in the making.

In 2021, an expert panel with four appointed representatives from each governing member of the MNC was established to conduct the review.

Two of the governing members–the MNBC and MN-S–have since left the MNC.

“Those four panelists together worked over the course of a year to review all of the available information,” Froh said in a Friday interview with APTN News. “They issued an open call for any interested party to make submissions, they reviewed, as they report, over 50,000 pages of documentation.”

The report examines seven communities: Northwestern Ontario, Northern Lake Superior, Sault Ste. Marie, Killarney, Georgian Bay, Abitbi Inland and Mattawa/Ottawa River.

Froh said the panel visited each community and assessed their legitimacy based on four criteria comprising the ‘Threads of the Sash Analysis’: ancestry, political action, common social and cultural characteristics, and land and water.

“If a community can’t show those various threads, they wouldn’t essentially form a complete sash, they wouldn’t meet the test,” Froh said.

The review suggested that all seven communities met the criteria.

A question of kinship

On Friday, the Manitoba Métis Federation published a news release arguing the MNC expert panel report was “riddled with errors that undermine Nationhood and perpetuate identity theft”.

In September 2021, the MMF left the MNC over their concerns about the MNO’s membership registry.

“We actually left the Métis National Council because of the absolute need to take a stand to protect the integrity of the actual nation,” MMF Minister Will Goodon said in a Friday interview with APTN.

“There was the assumption that there was a small part of Ontario that was included into the historic homeland, but unbeknownst to the rest of the nation, MNO was finding these new communities here, there and everywhere.”

Last August, the University of Saskatchewan’s Chair in Métis Governance and Policy released a report titled “A Vision of a Nation: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Inclusion of Seven Communities into the Métis Nation of Ontario and Its Implications for Métis Legitimacy, Governance and Identity”.

The report, prepared for the MNC by several Métis scholars, suggested that the MNO’s conception of Métis identity relied heavily on individual genealogy, rather than community relations.

“We found that the MNO approach can tend to create a racialized view of identity through a dependency on the use of ‘root ancestors’ and ‘verified Métis family lines’, which is a fundamental departure from how Métis Nation in the West understands identity to be tied to a person’s relations to a community with shared histories, political struggles, and cultural practices,” the report stated.

The MNC Expert Panel review discussed these criticisms in a section on the MNO’s Verified Métis Family Lines.

“We hear concerns about the overreliance on ‘Root Ancestors’ and, as has circulated in the media, that the MNO is ‘stealing’ First Nations Ancestors,” the MNC report states. “While there may be examples of ‘non-Status’ in these communities, the Panel believes that this is not fundamentally different than those ‘non-Métis’ ‘Halfbreeds’ who received scrip.”

Speaking on identity, Goodon referenced kinship as a defining feature of Red River Métis nationhood–which he argues doesn’t extend to the seven Métis communities in Ontario.

“This idea that it’s about the individual, and this individual has root ancestors, supposedly coming from a community–there’s still no connection to the nation,” Goodon said. “The connection can be through kinship connections, which, if you look at our nation, we’re related.”

Implications for First Nations in Ontario

 The Chiefs of Ontario–who have been critical of the MNO–also voiced their opposition to the MNC report in a Friday press release.

Lake Huron Regional Chief Scott McLeod told APTN he’s concerned about the implications on First Nations rights.

“It’s not just about our resources, our moose, our deer, our forests our medicines, but now even our program dollars are being affected by this,” McLeod said.

However, Froh views the report as an opportunity to establish a dialogue with First Nations in Ontario.

“We are doing our part to try and share this information with our First Nations neighbours and sometimes kin, and the Expert Panel report is another piece of information that we’ll be sharing and hopefully opening some dialogue,” Froh said.

The full report can be accessed via www.métisnation.ca/expert-panel.

The post MNC report on Ontario Métis communities dismissed by three Métis governments, Chiefs of Ontario appeared first on APTN News.

Two separate collisions a short distance from each other caused significant damage, but resulted in no reported injuries.

Shortly after 7:00 p.m. emergency crews responded to a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Topsail Road and Columbus Drive. Both vehicles involved sustained significant damage.

Roughly twenty minutes later a second collision occurred three kilometres away, at the intersection of Columbus Drive and Old Pennywell Road. Both vehicles involved, once again, sustained significant damage.

No injuries were reported following either collision.

Crews were kept busy attending to several traffic incidents on Friday evening, including crashes on Brier Avenue and Route 2 approaching Fowler’s Road. Weather is believed to have been a contributing factor, as roads quickly became slippery in snowfall and falling temperatures.

Alex Ovechkin has scored his 893rd career goal to move one back of tying and two away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record.

An Edmonton piano teacher, who was already facing sex charges involving a 10-year-old girl, is now facing charges involving another child, police say.

Scientists say it's likely that the closest active volcano to the Alaskan city of Anchorage will erupt soon. If it does, the primary concern is ash, which could impact both residents and flights in the area. Here's how scientists are preparing.

Grand Falls-Windsor RCMP are warning residents of an unknown man with a firearm last seen on Suvla Road. Shots were fired with no injuries. Residents are asked to shelter in place, do not answer your door and report any information to police 709-489-2121. Updates to follow.

RCMP are investigating an active shooter situation in Grand Falls-Windsor and are urging residents in the area to shelter in place.

The affected zone includes the area between Lincoln Road and Scott Avenue, as well as Goodyear Avenue and Riverview Road.

Police say there is no current description of the suspect or suspects involved, and details remain limited at this time.

Residents are asked to stay inside, lock their doors, and report any suspicious activity or information to 9-1-1 immediately.

The investigation is ongoing, and more information will be released as it becomes available.

A red wave seems to be washing over Quebec – regardless of Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s repeated stumbles on the stump.

Many days in this federal election campaign in la belle province have brought a gaffe from Mr. Carney, along with more good polling news. The former central banker is now lapping the opposition in Quebec, despite his shaky French, misidentifying a notorious mass shooting seared into the provincial consciousness, staking an unpopular position on language laws and mistranslating the name of one of his flagship policies.

Calgary is one step closer to getting four new communities on the city’s outskirts, after a city committee approved four applications for council to consider during budget adjustments in November.

The post Union Water Supply System – Call For Public Participation appeared first on Kingsville Times.

The joke used to be that falling down a WebMD rabbit hole would leave you convinced you had cancer, chlamydia or some other illness. Now, after scrolling TikTok, Instagram Reels or YouTube, you might be certain you have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or falsely believe that lemon balm tea is as effective as Ozempic for weight loss. Both of these health topics are currently trending on social media.

Health misinformation has always existed on the internet, but social media has allowed it to run rampant. Vitamin C in high doses is a natural cure for cancer, eating chickpeas daily results in perkier breasts and poor sleep paired with a puffy face is a sign of high cortisol. These are just some of the false claims influencers deliver with confidence and charisma.

Come up from the subway at Vancouver’s premier downtown corner, Georgia and Granville, and the picture couldn’t look more lively.

“Ukelele Edwin” is strumming his instrument and singing O Canada next to two food carts and a flower stand nearby. People are streaming past, some towing roller suitcases to hotels, some heading for the Hudson’s Bay store where everything inside is being liquidated. Others are rushing to catch a bus or train back to the suburbs.

Grand chef et chef d’une nation Mohawk évincés

Une visite de la fabrique de mocassins, Bastien industries

Une nouvelle exposition d’art célèbre les boucles d’oreilles «bougies»

Et en entrevue, Mandy Gull-Masty, et son chien Minnie se joignent à nous!

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