Opinion: As northern Canada burns, southern Canada makes climate change worse
Amid a wildfire crisis, the Ontario and federal governments' legislative efforts threaten to trample First Nations rights and erode the environment
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Replied to Windspeaker.com
@Windspeaker A heavy use of the word 'Indigenous' which tends to include a whole myriad of Indigenous groups and people.
Many FNs are starting to see how this word allows everyone to bypass dealing directly with FNs.
Industry enjoys having to deal with 'indigenous' groups that are not directly connected to the land because it allows them to bypass having to deal with First Nations that actually live on or close to the lands that would be affected by development.
Proud of my cousin Margaret Okimaw, from Attawapiskat FN. She took part in a youth led protest against Bill 5 in Timmins, Ontario. She's older than most of my cousins and we look up to her as an Elder, sister, aunt, care giver and knowledge keeper. Her photo appears in the Windbreaker article.
https://windspeaker.com/news/windspeaker-news/northern-ontario-first-nation-youth-protest-bill-5
Replied to Windspeaker.com
@Windspeaker "Bill 5 prioritizes resource extraction and corporate access to Indigenous territories while excluding First Nations from meaningful decision-making."
Gov will drag their feet when dealing with actual FN problems (like clean water, housing, food access, social supports) but when it comes to mining, they'll fast track everything.
Imagine what would happen if they just fast tracked access to clean water.
“How often does that happen, having two people from the same First Nation and same family get inducted at the same time?”
#Indigenous #FirstNations #sports #hockey #softball #HallofFame
https://www.windspeaker.com/news/sports/cousins-nolan-and-zack-be-inducted-canadas-sports-hall-fame
Windspeaker.comCousins Nolan and Zack to be inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of FameTed Nolan would like to make one thing very clear. He is NOT a retired hockey coach.Nolan, a member of Garden River First Nation in Ontario, last held a noteworthy coaching gig in 2015 as the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres in the National Hockey League (NHL).A recent article about Nolan described him as a retired coach. He said that is inaccurate.
“Any further actions taken by the Crown or industry without our consent are considered unlawful, illegitimate, and an act of trespass under both Canadian and international law…”
Windspeaker.comNo consent, no access: Bill 5 a continuation of colonial land dispossessionThe Chief and Council of Sachigo Lake First Nation, a Treaty 9 signatory and sovereign nation, want to express our serious concerns and formal rejection of Ontario’s Bill 5 – The Northern Ontario Critical Minerals Strategy Act and all associated activities that authorize mineral exploration on our lands without our Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. No Consent, No Access
Sandy Lake First Nation evacuations continue, hundreds have left as major wildfire burns nearby
#NEws #FirstNations #Indigenous #Canada #Wildfire
#ontario
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/sandy-lake-first-nation-wildfire-evacuations-1.7556353
CBC'We're all scared': Sandy Lake First Nation evacuations continue as major wildfire burns nearby | CBC NewsHundreds of members of Sandy Lake First Nation have left the remote Oji-Cree community as a major wildfire burns nearby. Here's what we know about how evacuation efforts are going and how community members are working together to meet each other's needs.
Replied to Windspeaker.com
@Windspeaker Whenever basic human rights or the health and safety of communities and people are involved, government will crawl on any decisions - if they make them ... yet if it is a question of supporting corporations or companies, the premier himself will volunteer to drive a bulldozer himself to get things done.
“This road only became an issue when the Ontario government … tried to make it into not just a road for Marten Falls to have access south to the highways, but for mining companies to come in and out of the #RingofFire area – to open up the area to mining, because there are no roads to it now.”
Windspeaker.comAroland First Nation on Bill 5 and Premier’s statements alleging Aroland supports Ring of Fire miningPremier (Doug) Ford is quoted in a Toronto Star article of June 5, 2025, as saying that he intends to apply BILL 5 to open up the Ring of Fire for mining as soon as possible and mentions the name of Chief Sonny Gagnon of Aroland First Nation as allegedly supporting this through an agreement.
“The government provided First Nations only seven days to respond to an outline of the bill and did not provide the full text… the Parliamentary process is not well suited to the depth of consultation such complex legal matters require.”
Windspeaker.comBill C-5, One Canadian Economy Act: Enormous responsibility rests on MPs and Senators to uphold the Honour of the Crown“The AFN will hold a virtual forum for Chiefs from across the country on June 16 to discuss the proposed legislation," said National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak. “First Nations want to open new economic development opportunities and address economic threats as much as anyone. We also have rights that cannot be ignored.”
Sandy Lake members 'pulling together' as wildfire evacuation continues: chief
Evacuation order issued on the weekend, Thunder Bay acting as evacuation hub
#FirstNations #Ontario #Canada #Wildfire
#SandyLake #Indigenous
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/sandy-lake-evacuation-1.7555918
CBCSandy Lake members 'pulling together' as wildfire evacuation continues: chief | CBC NewsAnother northwestern Ontario First Nation is being evacuated, as a major wildfire burns nearby. Here's what we know about evacuation efforts in Sandy Lake First Nation, as the Canadian Armed Forces have been called in to assist the remote community.
When actor Graham Greene got the call that he'd won a Governor General's Award, he thought it was a prank
The recognizable star of screen and stage is being honoured with a Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award
CBCWhen actor Graham Greene got the call that he'd won a Governor General's Award, he thought it was a prank | CBC ArtsFrom Six Nations of the Grand River to the big screen, the recognizable star of film and stage is being honoured with a Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award.
“This is an important event for me to take part in because this government action will affect my future and it will affect everything including the land, the water and the animals everywhere.”
#Indigenous #FirstNations #Bill5 #ONpoli
https://www.windspeaker.com/news/windspeaker-news/northern-ontario-first-nation-youth-protest-bill-5
Windspeaker.comNorthern Ontario First Nation youth protest Bill 5First Nation youth in northeastern Ontario took to the streets of Timmins June 6 to protest the Ontario government’s recent introduction of Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025, which aims to fast track resource development in northern Ontario. “This is an important event for me to take part in because this government action will affect my future and it will affect everything including the land, the water and the animals everywhere,” said event organizer 20-year-old Leeon Prince of Mattagami First Nation.
A news story I wrote on the First Nation Youth Led Protest Against Bill 5 in Timmins is now appearing in Wawatay News. #indigenous #Firstnations #mushkegowuk #nishnawbe #attawapiskat #bill5
Wawatay News is a FN media outlet that has served the FN area of northern Ont since 1974.
https://wawataynews.ca/breaking-news/northern-ontario-first-nation-youth-protest-bill-5
“All of us as #FirstNations people were wanting to find the people that we lost and those that are just gone. And for me as a journalist, it's what I have been doing... I've been doing that for over two-and-a-half decades. I feel like my mom gave me my greatest assignment.”
Windspeaker.comThe Knowing solves a mystery while turning Canadian history on its headIt’s a “special honour,” says award-winning journalist and author Tanya Talaga. Her newest non-fiction book The Knowing is being taught in Grade 11 at the Toronto District School Board, one of the largest school districts in Canada.
Anniversary of 'Red Paper' highlights First Nations' fight against assimilation
'The Red Paper reminds us that our treaties are forever and that our voices matter,' says Everett Willier
#Indigenous #FirstNations #Canada
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/red-paper-anniversary-edmonton-1.7551174
CBCAnniversary of 'Red Paper' highlights First Nations' fight against assimilation | CBC NewsA grassroots group in Edmonton honoured those who stood up for First Nations rights back in 1970 when the Canadian government was proposing to erase legal distinctions between First Nations and other citizens, at an event Wednesday.
Canadian military to assist in Sandy Lake First Nation wildfire evacuations, says Carney
Armed Forces aircraft and personnel have been deployed to northwestern #Ontario
community
#FirstNations #Indigenous #Ontario
#Wildfire #Canada
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/evacuation-order-sandy-lake-first-nation-wildfire-red-lake-12-1.7555487
CBCCanadian military to assist in Sandy Lake First Nation wildfire evacuations, says Carney | CBC NewsCanadian Armed Forces troops will help evacuate Sandy Lake First Nation, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday morning, as a wildfire moves toward the northwestern Ontario community.
#Evacuation, #FirstNations, Helicopters, PM Carney, #Ontario, #Indigenous, #Manitoba
Construction workers safe after huddling in shipping container as wildfire raged around them
""I thought we were going to perish actually. It wasn't good."
The 19-person crew, most from Manitoba, had been working near Sandy Lake in northwestern #Ontario
"We had three Hueys [helicopters] come above our position, trying to locate us," he said, adding the smoke made visibility challenging.
"They could locate the co-ordinates but they couldn't locate the camp itself," he said.
As of Saturday night, the Red Lake 12 fire was more than 150,000 hectares in size and was still out of control, a provincial spokesperson said.
"We woke up to just an orange sky with ashes flowing all over the place," Sandy Lake First Nation Chief Delores Kakegamic told CBC News on Saturday.
An evacuation order was issued for the First Nation on Saturday afternoon, with about 1,700 members being flown out as priority evacuees, Kakegamic said. She said they are headed to the airport in Red Lake, where they will be sent to either Kapuskasing, Cochrane, Toronto, or possibly Niagara.
Kakegamic said a few members of the construction crew seemed "really traumatized" when they arrived at the First Nation on Saturday.
On Sunday morning, Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on X that Canadian Armed Forces aircraft and personnel have been deployed to support the "emergency airlift evacuations around Sandy Lake First Nation."
Read more here
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/construction-crew-trapped-sandy-lake-wildfire-1.7555567
CBCConstruction workers safe after huddling in shipping container as wildfire raged around them | CBC NewsA crew of Manitoba construction workers were being flown home to Winnipeg on Saturday night after a harrowing day of being trapped by wildfire and taking shelter in a shipping container on a work site in northern Ontario.
Rare 2025.
Photograph: Naomi Hobson (Southern Kaantju First Nations)
Replied in thread
“The compulsory Te Tiriti education at the University of Auckland is not a burden. It’s a gift. It’s the bare minimum. It’s a necessary starting point for migrants, especially for caste-privileged Indian migrants like Dr Parmar, to begin undoing the toxic ideologies we bring with us.“
https://e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-analysis/why-acts-dr-parmar-is-wrong-about-te-tiriti-rights/?
E-Tangata · Why ACT's Dr Parmar is wrong about Te Tiriti rights | E-Tangata“The compulsory Te Tiriti education at the University of Auckland is not a burden. It’s a necessary starting point for migrants, especially for caste-privileged Indian migrants like Dr Parmar, to begin undoing the toxic ideologies we bring with us.” — Mohan Dutta.