Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson does us all proud in defending the province’s constitutional right to control its natural resources. She tweeted recently, “I will always defend Manitoba from any attempt to unilaterally strip clear provincial constitutional...
Winnipeg City Council needs to know renaming streets will not advance Indigenous reconciliation and it will deny Winnipeggers a chance for a learning experience about the residential schools legacy. A final motion goes to city council on March 23. The motion aims to...
Poll Question: March 22, 2023 to March 28 , 2023 On March 24th Winnipeg City Council voted unanimously to rename streets named after Bishop Vital Justin Grandin for what the CBC reported as “renewed outrage over the lasting harm caused by residential schools.” Bishop...
Political attacks on the Indian Act are back in the news, and that is a good thing. However, Canadian politicians, including First Nation politicians, need a credible plan about what to do before we pull out the champagne. Attacking the Indian Act is not a big deal...
The indictment of former U.S. president Donald Trump for crimes invented by his political opponents is the most egregious example yet seen of the weaponizing of the law. The United States is now full of examples. However, in Canada, we also see the law being...
OTTAWA, REGINA - Last week, two things happened that could have profound impacts on natural resources development in Saskatchewan. One is a hint the federal government might want to take control of natural resources away from the provinces, and the other is the...
In a recent New York Times article, David Wallace Wells asked, “How did No-Mandate Sweden End up with such an average pandemic”. Let’s be clear. This admission from the New York Times, who tried to destroy the response to Covid-19, starting in April 2020 and...
Canada’s chattering classes – who are often more accustomed to playing the sadly ineffectual dovish role – are rushing to prove their outrage over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and demonstrate their resolve to make Putin pay. However, these are often the same people...
A B.C. Indigenous leader who advised Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the contents of the landmark 2008 government residential schools apology has said that Canadians must not succumb to black and white thinking about the schools’ legacy. Despite his opposition to the...
One clear takeaway from the convoy protest is the realization that pandemic restrictions and mandates are not affecting everyone equally. Liberal MP Joel Lightbound’s clever retort of, “Not everyone can still earn a living using their MacBook while at the cottage”...
The pandemic is showing us the consequences of not adequately addressing housing and health care issues on Indigenous communities in Manitoba. Back in April 2020, I wrote an editorial that showed how Indigenous communities – while protected at first from the pandemic...
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...
Indigenous communities in Manitoba face some of the greatest obstacles. Over the years, when the UN Human Development Index was applied to First Nation communities across Canada, Manitoba First Nations often ranked lowest. So, it’s important to highlight some of the...
An Indigenous band bylaw dispute in nearby Saskatchewan highlights the problems of First Nations lack of property rights under the Indian Act. The dispute arose when a group of protesters occupied the band office at Carry the Kettle First Nation, south of Indian Head,...
Manitobans may have noticed that flags at federal institutions in the province are still flying at half mast. This has been the case since May with the discovery of roughly 200 unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia....