Results for: Indigenous Affairs

The province of Ontario has announced an investment of $540,000 to assist the Eabametoong First Nation (EFN) in establishing a temporary school by the fall. The community’s only school was destroyed by fire in January, displacing approximately 300 students. The funding will cover a range of needs, including emergency supplies, mental health support, and programming for children and youth. The Ontario government is working closely with EFN to identify and address the community’s requirements during this challenging time.

Gary Vidal, a Conservative Member of Parliament, has announced that he will not be seeking re-election due to the party’s decision to not hold an open nomination in the newly created Battlefords-Lloydminster-Meadow Lake riding. The riding boundaries have changed significantly, and Vidal will no longer reside within the electoral district he currently serves. Vidal expressed disappointment that an open nomination would not be held, stating that it was not the outcome he had anticipated. A party spokeswoman confirmed that Vidal had been offered the opportunity to run in his current riding, which has been redrawn but still includes most of his current constituents. Vidal’s decision follows his announcement earlier this year that he was stepping down as the Tories’ critic for Indigenous services in Parliament.

Three Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers in British Columbia will not face charges in the 2021 death of Jared Lowndes, a 38-year-old Indigenous man. The B.C. Prosecution Service informed Lowndes’ mother, Laura Holland, of their decision on Tuesday. Lowndes was shot and killed in the parking lot of a Tim Hortons in Campbell River, B.C., by at least one officer on July 8, 2021. The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. found reasonable grounds to charge the officers but the B.C. Prosecution Service declined to proceed with charges. Holland vowed to continue her fight for accountability, saying, “My fight to hold police accountable for my son’s death won’t stop today.”