Three years on, feds still working to ‘institutionalize’ Wilson-Raybould’s litigation rules: Miller
The federal Justice Department is still coming to grips with a set of fair-play rules for its legal battles with First Nations, three years after they were issued by then-justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, says Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller. Miller (Ville-Marie-Le Sud-Ouest-Île-des-Soeurs, Que.) said he and Justice Minister David Lametti (LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, Que.) had spent “an […]
Back in business: House Committees primed to play catch up with busy agendas
From grilling the head of Air Canada to embarking on pre-budget consultations to exploring the ethics of facial recognition technology, many House Committees will hit the ground running when Parliament returns at the end of the month. Committee work was disrupted during the previous Parliament, with many sitting dormant for six months starting in mid-March […]
Canada chooses oil companies over Indigenous peoples
The contradictions couldn’t be more glaring. While recent laws passed by the federal and the British Columbia governments pledge to transform relationships with Indigenous peoples, their actions indicate otherwise. For example, in northern British Columbia, the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs of all five clans oppose incursion into their traditional, unceded lands by the Coastal Gaslink pipeline. […]
Three years on, Canada delays naming an ambassador to the Holy See
More than three years after Canada’s last full-fledged ambassador to the Holy See left his post, Ottawa has yet to name a replacement. The lack of appointment has led to the diplomatic posting becoming one of Canada’s longest vacancies without a new ambassador. The prolonged vacancy comes at the same time as the Liberal government […]
Minister Miller builds his Crown-Indigenous relations team, with Kettler promoted to deputy chief of staff
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller now has much of his ministerial office in place, promoting a number of staff to fill senior roles, including Kathy Kettler, who now wears the title of deputy chief of staff. Kettler comes from Miller’s old Indigenous services team, where she’d been director of operations since August 2020. She first […]
There is no doubt the RCMP is a failed institution
OTTAWA—It must be nice to not to fear the national police. It must be reassuring to have a level of trust in them. That trust is misplaced in the RCMP. Journalists Amber Bracken and Michael Toledano were arrested along with Sleydo’ and others working to protect the land against the Coastal GasLink Pipeline. The RCMP […]
‘Absolutely shameful’: RCMP conduct, arrest of journalists in spotlight as Wet’suwet’en opposition to pipeline flares up
The executive editor of one media organization that has been covering the RCMP’s raid of a pipeline opposition site in northwestern B.C. says charges should not have been brought against two journalists who were incarcerated while reporting on the Indigenous land defenders. And, Brent Jolly, national president of the Canadian Association of Journalists, says that […]
The power of voice: how to best serve the under-represented
Before I entered residential school at the age of five, I remember when my life was built on my own joyous thoughts, words, and actions, emboldened by the guidance of my parents and relatives. Leaving residential school at 16, all of that was lost, leaving me with the voices of the nuns and priests and […]
Crown-Indigenous Minister Miller brings old chief of staff to new role
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller has locked in Mike Burton as chief of staff for his new ministerial office. Mr. Burton previously ran Mr. Miller’s office as minister of Indigenous services, starting in late 2019, after that year’s election, when the minister first took on the portfolio. “I’m pleased to say that I’ve signed on […]
Pretendians in our midst
OTTAWA—Pretendian: Canadian of settler descent and values who claims to be Indigenous in order to gain monetary benefit. And so deeply ironic. Indigenous peoples have a lower life expectancy, higher risks of disease and mental illness, higher risks of intergenerational trauma, much higher risks of experiencing racism. Our existence is our resistance. And yet, some […]
