An Interpretation of this Case The Restoule case raises novel, contentious, and potentially destabilizing issues of national importance which the people of Canada deserve to have settled by the Supreme Court. The trial judge, upheld by a narrow majority of the Court...
Background In 1850, the 21 Ontario Indian bands along the north shores of lakes Huron and Superior, by the terms of the Robinson Treaties, surrendered and ceded to the Crown all their claims to ownership of the treaties territories in exchange for monies paid and to...
The age-old expression that actions speak louder than words conveys an important insight: character is best judged through action. Anyone can say or promise anything but doing requires ability and skill, discipline and commitment. So, the simplest test of character is...
Premier Heather Stefanson has a chance to set out on an agenda to advance the quality of life for all Indigenous people in the province. Leaders from the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) – representing northern First Nations – and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs...
Should Canadians be free to fly without a COVID-19 vaccination? Four Canadian pilots thought so and founded Free to Fly at the end of August. By now, the organization has attracted 14,300 members, including 1,900 airline staff. In an interview, Free to Fly co-founder...
The most mentioned reason for lockdowns has been the protection of health systems. The claim is that such protection saves lives. So, it is fair to ask how health systems are performing in their lockdown life-saving duty? There are several points from which one can...
The Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women Inquiry (MMIW) was back in the news recently. They asked the federal government for a two year extension on their mandate, and an additional $50,000,000. They have apparently already burned through the $54,000,000 they had...
The Supreme Court of Canada’s Mikisew decision, delivered on October 11, 2018, marks what could be a very significant development in Canadian law -possibly ushering in a more reasonable era, where courts intervene less in matters that properly belong to the people’s...
Five Calls to Action in the Truth and Reconciliation Report concerns child welfare. Basically these calls focus on increasing funding for Indigenous welfare, establishing national standards for the various agencies, keeping Indigenous children in culturally-relevant...
"If you ever ask yourself, why indigenous people line up during Treaty Days to collect $5.00 and why is it still $5.00? That $5.00 should have been raised with inflation. Annuity payments were in lieu of giving the access to the minerals. The annuities that were...
For Chanelle Armstrong, 31, creating her family business Stay Native was a chance to turn a growing New Zealand tourism industry into an opportunity to promote self-reliance among the Indigenous Māori. Many Māori businesses aim to help their community. “Being a social...
The federal government is moving full-speed ahead to dramatically reform the relationship between the Crown and Canada’s Indigenous people through a new Indigenous Rights, Recognition and Implementation Framework and through a suite of legislative changes. However,...
"Indigenous Affairs is not like most government departments. Most government departments provide one service to all Canadians. However, Indigenous Affairs provides all services to an individual group of Canadians. Indigenous Affairs has jurisdiction over 90% of...
One of Canada’s best known historic heroes has taken quite a shellacking lately. John A. Macdonald’s statue was removed from a place of prominence in Victoria by order of its city council, and there have been calls elsewhere for buildings that honour his memory to be...
Kawana Wallace, 27, is an Indigenous entrepreneur who has been able to harness his technical skills to revitalize the Māori language. Wallace is a co-founder and CEO of my Reo Studios, a New Zealand-based software company providing bilingual (English and Māori)...