While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Olivia Stefanovich.
2015 voting drive led to record on-reserve turnout. First Nations leaders in Alberta are turning to a campaign that saw record on-reserve voter turnout in an effort to tip the scales against the separatist movement during October’s provincial referendum. Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi of Treaty 8 First Nations told CBC News they want to replicate the 2015 "Rock the Vote"...
The prime minister said there should be a public apology for a spying operation targeting hundreds of Indigenous people that had the support of the federal government. "Yes, there should be an apology," Mark Carney said during a press conference in Halifax on Thursday. "It’s a reprehensible practice. Never should’ve happened." Carney was responding to reporting from CBC Indigenous, which...
MPs have reservations about PM's initial statement supporting U.S.-Israel strikes. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is set to brief Liberal MPs on Friday morning about the government's position on the war that has now engulfed Iran and surrounding countries in the Middle East, after some both privately and publicly raised concerns about Prime Minister Mark Carney's initial statement regarding the...
Ottawa will provide $50 million to help build the first Inuit-led university in Canada and more than $170 million for tuberculosis elimination, food security, and child and family supports in Inuit communities, CBC News has learned. Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty is scheduled to make the announcement in Kuujjuaq, Que., on Thursday afternoon at a meeting with the Makivvik Corporation...
Inuit leaders back from a recent trip to Greenland say there's a stark contrast between the infrastructure in that Nordic country compared to Canada's North, and they're calling on the federal government to urgently fill the gap as part of its enhanced focus on Arctic security. "They're way ahead of us," said Paul Irngaut, president of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI)...
Arviat, a small Nunavut community located along the western shore of Hudson Bay, will be the home of the first Inuit-led university in Canada's Arctic, CBC News has learned. The location of the main campus will be formally announced at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday afternoon during an event hosted by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the national organization representing...
Canada becomes one of the first countries to open a consulate in Greenland following U.S. president's threats. A delegation of Inuit from Canada is in Greenland for the official opening of the new Canadian consulate in the capital, Nuuk, with a stern message for U.S. President Donald Trump: "Back off." Those were the words of Susie-Ann Kudluk, vice-president of the...
Canada's top court is hearing final arguments on Thursday in a case resurfacing former prime minister Justin Trudeau's role in the WE Charity scandal, which could bring sweeping changes to how Canadians hold their elected officials accountable. The Supreme Court of Canada is wrapping up two days of hearings after Democracy Watch challenged a 2021 decision by the federal ethics...
Canadian Human Rights Tribunal set Dec. 22 as deadline for long-term proposals. Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal. The federal government has until Dec. 22 to make its submission to the Canadian Human...
Metis Settlements of Alberta president says project could help Metis communities achieve full sustainability. The Metis Settlements of Alberta say they’re interested in purchasing a stake in a proposed oil pipeline to the West Coast and want to work with First Nations in British Columbia who oppose the project and plan to bring forward an emergency resolution at the Assembly...
Deal expected Thursday on conditions for pipeline to northwest B.C. With Prime Minister Mark Carney poised to sign a "grand bargain" with Alberta later this week, some B.C. Liberal MPs are raising concerns about Ottawa possibly giving the green light to a new oil pipeline to the Pacific, sources say. Liberal MPs told CBC News that they have not been...
Conservative members on the House committee on fisheries and oceans are raising concerns about the impact of and science behind marine protected areas that the federal government is establishing to meet its 2030 conservation goals. They say fishermen in their coastal ridings have not been consulted and are worried the plan will shut down fishing grounds and take away their livelihoods.
Deal to be formally announced on Thursday. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have agreed to the broad outlines of a memorandum of understanding that would give Alberta special exemptions from federal environmental laws and offer political support to a new oil pipeline to the B.C. coast, CBC News has learned. The deal is set to be...
Prime minister to attend Global Progress Action Summit with progressive leaders. Prime Minister Mark Carney heads to the United Kingdom Thursday to attract investment and strengthen ties that he argues are key to securing Canada's future. Back in Ottawa, the Conservative Party argues Carney is running away from problems at home and has nothing to show for it. "He travels...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Prime Minister Mark Carney on Saturday to add Canada's weight behind global pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to sit at the negotiating table and agree to "an unconditional ceasefire." During the first face-to-face meeting between Zelenskyy and Carney, who secured a mandate in last month's federal election, the Ukrainian president said the pressure on...
Even though Elizabeth May is the only Green member of Parliament left standing after the federal election, the party leader says she wants to play a key role in the new minority Parliament. With the Liberals just a few seats shy of a majority, May said she's open to negotiating and possibly even striking a deal with Prime Minister Mark...
Polls suggest the Green Party is at risk of being wiped off Canada's electoral map on election night, but co-Leader Elizabeth May believes the numbers don't reflect the party's ground game. May, who's running for a fifth term, said she's knocked on so many doors that only her left hand can continue.
Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand informed the provinces Friday that Ottawa will remove more than half of federal internal trade barriers in a move to make Canada less reliant on the United States, according to a senior federal government source. Anand made the announcement at an informal, virtual meeting of the Committee on Internal Trade, which is responsible for implementing...
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance that punishing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum will hurt his home state Ohio, a senior Canadian official said. The two leaders met on the sidelines of an international summit in Paris, as the Trump administration moves forward with its threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and...
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will try to strengthen Canada's trade and security ties over the next five days with European allies also facing threats from U.S. President Donald Trump over their economy and sovereignty. Trudeau is heading to Paris and Brussels starting Saturday — just days after Trump agreed to pause tariffs on Canada until March 4.
Nova Scotia Liberal MP Jaime Battiste says he will be dropping out of the Liberal Party leadership race in favour of backing former central banker Mark Carney.
Defence Minister Bill Blair is dismissing calls from his department's watchdog to offer immediate compensation, and physical and psychological care, to a group of former combat advisers denied health benefits, despite playing a pivotal role in Canada's Afghanistan military mission, CBC News has learned. Robyn Hynes, interim ombud for the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces...
National Indigenous leaders in Canada say the prime minister is asking them to lobby their counterparts in the United States as part of the pushback against president-elect Donald Trump's tariff threats. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the request during a Wednesday morning meeting with leaders of the national organizations representing Inuit, Métis and First Nations. It was the first time...
Sydney-Victoria MP Jaime Battiste is mounting a campaign to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and become the next leader of the Liberal Party, CBC News has learned. Battiste made history in 2019 when he was elected as the first Mi'kmaw MP. Now he said he wants to make history again as the first Indigenous prime minister. "Before there was a...
There's more to relieving tensions in Arctic than icebreakers and guns, Natan Obed says. The leader of the national organization representing Inuit says the Conservative leader trivialized Inuit and everyone who lives in the Arctic with a "Santa Claus" social media quip criticizing Ottawa's plans to appoint an Arctic ambassador. In a post published online over the weekend, Conservative Leader...
The federal government says it will offer financial compensation to Inuit in Nunavik for the devastation caused by the mass slaughter of their sled dogs decades ago. More than 1,000 of the dogs that Inuit relied on for their livelihoods were shot to death by Mounties, employees of the Hudson's Bay Company and other authorities during the mid-1950s and late...
Ottawa is finalizing its long-awaited Arctic foreign policy with Inuit leaders for release before the end of the year, as Canada braces for a second Trump presidency and increasing threats to its sovereignty from China and Russia. Inuit leaders and federal ministers met in Ottawa Friday to go over the details of the policy, which are expected to include the...
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has an opening during this week's summit with regional leaders in Laos to step up Canada's efforts to help Southeast Asian countries facing escalating threats from China, experts say. Southeast Asian countries want to stop China from using its navy, Coast Guard and merchant vessels to bully them during territorial disputes, and they need stronger protection...
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau heads to Laos this week to advance trade and political ties in the region as violence in the Middle East dominates public opinion in Southeast Asia. Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy for the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, said Canada and other western nations have taken a "reputational hit" in Muslim-majority countries — including...
The service in charge of keeping Parliament Hill safe says it has significantly stepped up security following a confrontation between NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and protesters — but one Liberal MP says it's still not enough. Pam Damoff, parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs, asked Sergeant-at-Arms Patrick McDonnell in a letter on Wednesday to boost security even more.
He's greeted millions of visitors to the most powerful political grounds in the country, and even put his name furr-ward for prime minister. Coal Taurozzi is the last surviving feline from the beloved former cat colony on Parliament Hill. For years, Coal brought joy to Parliament Hill with his jet black fur and bright green eyes. Now his pet dad...
Indigenous leaders will attend a meeting with Canada's premiers on Monday, with health care on the agenda — but also a deteriorating relationship. This is the first time Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed will meet provincial and territorial premiers since the June 2016 Council of the Federation meeting in the Yukon. This summer's meeting is being held in Halifax.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre made his first in-person speech to the Assembly of First Nations Thursday, promising the chiefs gathered in Montreal to reduce the federal government's role in their lives and give them more say over their economic future. "I'm not here to run your life. I don't want to run anybody's life," Poilievre said. "I want to run...
Five years after a national inquiry delivered more than 200 recommendations aimed at protecting Indigenous women and girls from going missing or being murdered, former commissioners say there's been too little systemic change across the country. Former chief commissioner of the inquiry Marion Buller and fellow commissioner Michèle Audette, who now sits as a Quebec senator, told CBC News they...
The federal NDP and Green Party are calling on the federal government to introduce a new law similar to one used by the U.S. for 9/11 victims to address problems with six Indigenous class action lawsuit settlement agreements. Nunavut NDP MP Lori Idlout and Green Party Deputy Leader Jonathan Pedneault sent a letter to three federal ministers on Wednesday urging...
The most prominent Indigenous women's organization in Canada is undergoing a federal financial audit where preliminary evidence of "ineligible expenses" was found, while facing union-busting allegations following a mass round of layoffs, CBC News has learned. The Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC), which relies on federal dollars to operate, is battling complaints filed to the Ontario and Quebec labour...
A special parliamentary committee is set to release a report this week that could shape the federal government's decision on whether to allow those suffering solely from a mental illness to obtain medically assisted deaths. Conservative and NDP members of the joint committee on medical assistance in dying (MAID) say they want an indefinite pause on the pending expansion of...
Ottawa wants to pay class action lawyers roughly half the amount they're requesting in legal fees for a multi-billion dollar First Nations child welfare compensation case — the largest settlement agreement in Canadian history. The federal government argued before Federal Court this past week that it should pay the class action lawyers between $40 million and $50 million, rather than...