APTN National News April 19, 2024 – Coroner’s inquest recap, Bill C-29 close to becoming law

good evening I'm Dennis Ward welcome to aptn national news today marks the conclusion of the second week of a Coroner's inquest focused on the deaths of four indigenous women who died while accessing services at the White Horse Emer emergency shelter apn's Sarah Connor brings us a recap of this week's proceedings much of this week's proceedings focused on the death of 52-year-old Darla Skookum a citizen of the little Sam and KX First Nation Skookum died at the White Horse emergency shelter last April after staff put her to bed on her stomach in video footage leading up to scum's death she appeared to be unconscious or sleeping and unable to stand or walk on her own staffer shown helping play Skookum in a wheelchair and moving her to an overflow sleeping room they testified Skookum appeared intoxicated but breathing in responsive and its common practice at the shelter for intoxicated people to be put to bed on their stomach the footage shows Skookum laying on her stomach with her face in her pillow none of the staff who helped Skookum to bed went back to check on her around 12 hours later a staff member discovered Skookum lifeless body footage shows bodily fluids had leaked onto her pillow and Mattress a normal occurrence when someone dies Skookum displayed no signs of life and was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel one staff member who helped put Darla Skookum to bed said he didn't notice her face was in her pillow he also said that after reviewing video footage he now thinks placing her on her stomach was not the best position to leave her in other said that while scum's death did not lead to any new training they're now required to perform bed checks three times a night to make sure clients are breathing the inquest continues next week in White Horse Sarah Connors APN national news White Horse thanks Sarah to Ottawa now where the standing committee on the status of women continued their study on implementing a red dress alert system on Thursday the minister of crown indigenous relations appeared for questioning a year ago ndpm P lezan filed a motion for the establishment of a Canada wide emergency system it's to help address the issue of missing or murdered indigenous women and girls during the committee she took the opportunity to ask Minister Ananda anger why only $1.3 million over three years for the alert was set aside in this year's federal budget 47 million to find to deal with the auto theft problem and although I know that the auto theft problem is really tremendous in this country the message is very clear that this country cares more about cars than it does indigenous women Girls 2slgbtqqia plus I'm wondering why there wasn't greater uh dollars put in specifically in the areas of prevention uh to deal with this uh what has been acknowledged in fact by your government and your leader as an ongoing genocide the report of the um of mmwg cause of Justice uh the 231 um are quite large quite vast um and there is a preventive component and there there is a supportive component the preventive component goes to the core of the social determines of health so our investments on housing our continued investment on housing and and and I recognize that that they're still gaps um I think it's critical I think the issues around Emergency Shelters $27 million for emergeny shelters and transitional homes homes um on reserve I think is is a critical uh Point here still in Ottawa bill c29 is nearly at the Finish Line to being passed into law it will create a National Council to monitor progress on reconciliation Senate amendments on Bill c29 were up for debate in the House of Commons on Friday the creation of such a council falls under TRC call to action number 53 the Assembly of First Nations M National Council in tapari katami and the native women's Association of Canada all have seats on the council under the current proposed legislation but during debate conservative MP Jamie SCH uh asked why the Congress of Aboriginal peoples has not been included specifically the fact that the Congress Aboriginal peoples despite representing um uh a large number of indigenous people uh living off Reserve when you're talking about those living off uh uh the First Nations they represent status non-status mate and yet they are left off the the the founding uh table that then uh dictates the the the the path going forward a vote on c29 is expected later this month if passed it will then be sent to Governor General Mary Simon for Royal Ascent a controversial silica sand mine has been recently approved in Manitoba earlier this week in part one we told you about why some community members say it shouldn't go ahead in part two now reporter Sav jonesa has more on what the mind's proponent and Hollow water leadership have to say an approved silica sand mine in Hollow water first nation's traditional territory is still receiving push back the Alberta based company Canadian premium sand or CPS is the proponent of the project in the first part of this two-part series we heard the frustrations of Camp Morning Star a land protector group in opposition to the mine in part two we'll look into cps's responses to their concerns and those raised by others silica sand is sand with a high silicon dioxide content and is often used in glass making the Silicon the sand mined by the project was originally going to be sold to the oil and gas industry for fracking CPS changed lanes in 20122 because according to their website it no longer makes business sense to sell the sand to the oil and gas industry the sand is now intended to make solar glass panels in a manufacturing plant CPS has been approved to construct in selker Manitoba the new plan sees a project considerably scaled back in scope and size compared to the original CPS CEO and president Glenn laru says both projects are linked and construction at both sites will begin once financing is in place he says they are optimistic financing will be complete this year CPS has had at least one local community consultation back in 2019 around 130 people attended it was requested by the Manitoba sustainable development Branch to address public concerns that year CPS received around 180 pages of public comments mostly an objection to the mine along with concerns they came from local cottagers residents of surrounding communities and environmental groups their concerns focused on noise levels traffic and road conditions water quality and many worried about the environment as well as their own health in 2022 CPS held a community information session unveiling the new project purpose of making so glass panels only 35 people attended and eight provided feedback on their environmental concerns their feedback was shared in cps's notice of alteration report the majority of people were concerned still with noise and air pollution and then water quality animals and fish habitat trucks carrying the sand will leave the facility in average of 50 times a day 5 to 7 days a week based on CPS estimates but Hollow water First Nation leadership reaffirm confirmed their full support for the project in a letter to CPS their Chief and counsel stated in part we're proud to support this long-term vision for our community for Manitoba and for Canada we see a future where we all benefit APN reached out to Chief Larry Barker through email phone and inperson but was not able to reach him for an interview CPS CEO Glenn Laro was unavailable for an interview with APN national news he sent an email statement he said he's aware of some community members concerns but that he's also aware of concerns by leaders and the communities related to very high unemployment related Social Challenges and overdependence on levels of government funding to maintain their Community infrastructure and programs the local leadership wants responsible Economic Development and employment opportunities and their communities as a platform to build a better future and our project can help provides that according to CPS there will be up to 17 jobs available for operating the plant and up to 20 jobs as truck drivers delivering the sand to selker the mine is slated to operate for 35 years it and the manufacturing plant combined are estimated to generate $200 million in provintial taxes over a 10-year period Sav jonza APN National News Winnipeg thanks Sav there will be new faces in the coming weeks and some police detachments in a handful of First Nations in Manitoba many of whom are indigenous themselves here's a sneak peek tan TR Wheatley and Nan seasin I am here outside the city of Porter laia Manitoba where we are attending a graduation ceremony for 10 new constables for the Manitoba first nation's Police Service what exactly does this mean for some reserves in the province uh what's might make our course unique is we re injected a lot of cultural pieces into and a lot of Community Connection exercises and that sorts of things so that's very important for the type of service we provide find out next week on APN national news welcome back leadership and youth ambassadors of the abanaki nation from Quebec we're in Times Square recently and lit up the famous New York City Landmark with a message about identity fraud they rented a billboard with the message stop indigenous identity fraud the abanaki in Quebec alleged that people who claim to be abanaki in Vermont are not indigenous the billboard ran for one minute out of every hour for an entire day siguan sbell is a youth Ambassador for the abanaki nation she hopes the billboard raises awareness about the Harms they take our they take our culture they speak in our place they take our voice I hope that people understand that uh identity fraud is a big problem and it's not only our and it's not only an abanaki problem it's for it's everyone everyone is a part of this and I hope that we also create allies so that people can also defend us and be with us on our side and try to uh not remove pretendian but call them out new six-part series that focuses on an in-depth look at indigenous history was recently launched in Ottawa it's now being screened across Canada with Vancouver being one of the stops apn's Tina house has [Music] more understanding indigenous history a path forward is a compelling six-part series that just screened in Vancouver it features in-depth interviews led by multi-award-winning journalist Lisa laflam as she interviews former assembly First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine along with lawyer Kathleen Mahoney it delves deep into the history of Canada's relationship with indigenous people and providing insight into ways to move forward how of this em of course as we know the story that we've been told for for so long Canada is is actually in the views of these people that write our our history is made up of two cultures French and English and a complete absence of uh anything to do with indigen peoples this feels like a good time to bring the lawyer in because it sounds a lot like theft you know coming in uh hundreds of years ago and putting that cross down well that was the symbolic I guess statement of the discovery principle which was created by the Vatican by the popes who were supporting the first explorers the Portuguese in Spanish in particular put a year on that Kathleen well it was in 14 I believe 1402 something around that time period this project is important not just for me but it's a project about Canadians it's about Canada and uh our people the first peoples are an important and integral part of Canada but for the longest time when we when people have have talked or written about Canada there was always a missing chapter and the missing chapter was about our people the series crafts together not only the one-on-one interviews but also features various profiles of indigenous people from across Canada giving their perspective from everything from murder to missing indigenous people to residential schools to what it's like to be indigenous in Canada produced by University Canada West the series is now available on YouTube with various screenings taking place at receptions like this one around the world it's an incredible piece of work evokes a lot of emotions from from from you know frustration anger sometimes embarrassment of of how things have unfolded across across time and history and and this is our commitment as a university as an education group a step forward in doing our part to support Truth and Reconciliation to sit across from Phil and Kathleen and really be able to act ask any question starting you know 400 years ago and right up until today I went through the education system in Canada in the 70s and 80s and these were not things I learned in school about our own history Tina house APN National News Vancouver to Northern Manitoba now where last week the town of Churchill lost their only waste storage facility to a major fire the building was a former military warehouse and was being used to store the town's garbage in the winter it also hosted Church Hill's recycling program Mayor Michael Spence said the cause of the fire was likely combustion after the community closed its landfill in 2005 indoor waste storage was introduced to avoid attracting polar bears to the area Manitoba minister of environment and climate change change Tracy schitt told APN news that the province has sent on the ground support to Churchill they're working with the municipal government to explore short and long-term Solutions over the past few years the town has been exploring Waste Management alternatives to prevent polar bears from visiting the area mayor Spence says the town is eyeing an incineration model with this type of model you know those other Northern Communities up the coast from us that have similar problems in terms of handling waste so you know we're ahead of the game in terms of looking and advancing to where we need to go so yeah that's first ever Louis real cup hockey tournament is about to get underway we'll tell you all about it after the [Music] break welcome back time now for our photo of the day yesterday morning just for Sunrise Lee Wilson snapped this photo of an eagle perched on some Driftwood in Kat Village British Columbia thanks for sharing Lee if you have a great photo send it to share APN doca for the chance to be our next photo of the day now let's take a look at your Saturday weather forecast starting on the East Coast 9 with showers in Halifax rain and eight in frederickton two with snow in kuak rain and six for Nan 11 in Montreal snow and plus five for valdor flurries and four in Sous St Marie six with snow in North Bay eight with uh showers in Thunder Bay six above in Sue Lookout plus three with snow in Gods Lake six in Norway house sun's out and 10 above for Winnipeg and dolphin a sunny high of nine in vagina and Yorkton 13 in meal Lake Suns out and 10 for Buffalo narrow a sunny high of 14 for Peace River and Grand Prairie 12 in Edmonton a sunny high of nine for leth bridge showers and 15 for Vancouver 18 with raining cam loops sunny and 14 for Prince George 12 in De Lake plus four in Old Crow 13 above in White Horse sunny and five for Yellow Knife nine in Wrigley minus five in sax Harbor plus two for poto minus 19 for Chesterfield and whale Cove 20 below in Resolute and Joe Haven first ever Louis real Cup hockey tournament is taking place in Saskatoon this weekend mate Nation Saskatchewan hosting the tournament for players of all all ethnicities in the spirit of reconciliation 12 men's teams and seven women's teams are competing at the rod ham and Harold L Trace Arenas each team must have a minimum of two First Nations players two mate players and two non-indigenous players the puck drops for the first games tonight with the finals wrapping up Sunday Rich Pon is mate T from Saskatoon he spent 18 years with the New York Islanders the Rangers and St Louis Blues he's the M&S Ambassador for reconciliation we want to bring all cultures together we want to be positive we want to be have a great a great weekend of fun hockey that everybody gets to enjoy not only will the winning men's and women's team be the first to win the Louis roal cup but they will skate away with a $30,000 cash prize each the University of Alberta launched a new online magazine on Wednesday they will open doors to indigenous writers and editors Yom mag.com wants to give established and upand cominging artists a place to publish that has an indigenous Focus apn's Chris Stewart has that story so few of those Jordan abble is the co-creator and editor of the newly launched yo magazine Abel is an award-winning and published author with over a dozen books he says his experience with Publishers led him to create a place to publish poems short stories book reviews and interviews with the content being 100% indigenous most of the folks that that work in editing and Publishing are non-indigenous uh so when I went to publish my own works I would often be paired up with non-indigenous editors uh and I I think indigenous peoples really need to be able to tell their own stories uh we need uh we need sovereignty around our narratives so the associate professor of English and film studies at the U OFA helped create yo magazine is you know a magazine that is meant to celebrate indigenous creativity uh and the creative writing we publish is exclusively indigenous writing and the reviews and the uh the interviews are open to non non-indigenous contributors who want to help lift up indigenous writing the first issue has a short story from writer and lawyer Chelsea Val on her experience in Europe poet and author Molly cross Blanchard tells a story of a bus trip with a Twist there are book reviews more stories and Jordan Abel interviews photographer and poet to Neil Campbell the writing that we publish is is meant to be the the best of emerging and established indigenous authorship uh many of the authors that we've published have won numerous Awards and are operating at the at the highest level that that you can in in the literary sphere uh but we're also very open to emerging indigenous writers who who need to to get a foothold somewhere you can read the first issue at Yom mag.com Chris Stewart APN National News Edmonton good stuff thanks for that Chris that's all the time we have for your APN national news for this Friday for anytime you can visit our website APN news.ca or head on over and subscribe to our APN News YouTube channel I'm Dennis Ward Marc mwit thanks for being with us stick around APN investigates is just seconds away with the new episode inside the band office stonewald it's going to be a good one have a great night

Channel: APTN News

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Length: 23min 54sec (1434 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 19 2024