4 northern Ontario First Nations form coalition to bid on new power line
CBC
Four northern Ontario First Nations have formed a coalition to bid on a power line project that would pass through their traditional territories.
Taykwa Tagamou Nation, Michipicoten First Nation, Chapleau Cree First Nation and Missanabie Cree First Nation have come together to create the Transmission Infrastructure Partnerships 9 (TIP-9) coalition to build a 230-kilovolt transmission line.
It will cover 260 kilometres—through their traditional territories—connecting the Wawa Transformer Station and the Porcupine Transformer Station in northeastern Ontario.
The project is meant to help parts of northeastern Ontario meet growing electricity demand.
The coalition has financial backing from American electric power provider Ameren Electric, and would maintain 50 per cent ownership of the power line. The First Nations would then have the opportunity for full ownership of the line, under the agreement.
Michipicoten Chief Patricia Tangie said they expect the province to make a decision on the power line contract late this year, or by early 2024.
Tangie said the province did not do a good job in the past of consulting with First Nations on similar development projects.
But this coalition arrives at a turning point in that relationship, she added.
"We're at a place and time now where the worldview of the Indigenous people has changed and we are coming to a stronger understanding of the settler mindset," she said.
Taykwa Tagamou Nation Chief Bruce Archibald told CBC News they view the project as an opportunity for reconciliation with the provincial government.
"When I talk about win-win-win, you know, the First Nations are able to have a seat at the table, make decisions on such major projects that go through their territory and benefit from the resources that are going to come out of this project," Archibald said.
Chapleau Cree First Nation Chief Keeter Corston said First Nations control over the project would allow them to minimize the environmental impact in their territories.
"We want to really protect the land and that's our obligation," he said.
"And to the best of our ability and make the least possible, you know, footprint as we can."
A decision over how the provincial government regulates moose hunting in a First Nation's traditional territory now rests with a Manitoba judge, whose ruling will be precedent-setting, lawyers in the case say.
A teenager diagnosed with bird flu in British Columbia is the first domestically acquired human case of H5N1 avian influenza, the Public Health Agency of Canada says.
The Manitoba government made a "political compromise" in its decision to issue a reduced number of moose hunting licences to non-Indigenous hunters in northern parts of the province earlier this year, a lawyer representing a First Nation in the area has argued in court.
If it weren't for a stem cell transplant — less than half a cup of blood from a stranger's umbilical cord — four-year-old Tristan Ford would almost certainly have died as an infant, his parents say.
A Métis saddle from the early 1800s is at the centre of an exhibit that opened last month at a Swiss museum, along with contemporary beadwork created by other Red River Métis artists.
A dome-shaped device floating in Halifax's Northwest Arm could easily be confused with a buoy, but it is actually a contraption meant to turn ocean water into fresh water.
As of Tuesday, there are limits on the number of bottles of spirits a person can buy at the B.C. Liquor store in Tofino, a move that leaders of the Ahousaht First Nation were pushing for.
This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.
Mohawk code talkers and their missions were so vital during the Second World War, that some believe without them, there was no way of winning of the war.
Two feisty ferret babies in Virginia are being hailed as a symbol of hope for the future of their species.
On day one of Donald Trump's presidency, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he'll be advising Trump to take fluoride out of public water. The former independent presidential hopeful — and prominent proponent of debunked public health claims — has been told he'll be put in charge of health initiatives in the new Trump administration. He's described fluoride as "industrial waste."