Statement by Minister Valdez to mark National Indigenous Peoples Day Français
OTTAWA, ON, /CNW/ - The Honourable Rechie Valdez, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism), made the following statement:
"Today, I join communities across the country in celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day.
"This is a time to honour the rich histories, vibrant cultures and enduring contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. From coast to coast to coast, we celebrate the strength, resilience, and leadership of Indigenous communities.
"Today, more than 50,000 small businesses are majority-owned by Indigenous entrepreneurs. Indigenous-led businesses are fuelling economic growth and uplifting communities across the country.
"In 2023 alone, Indigenous tourism operators generated an estimated 34,700 jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity. These numbers tell a powerful story of resilience and innovation and highlight the vital role Indigenous businesses play in our tourism economy.
"As Minister of Women and Gender Equality, I am committed to supporting Indigenous-led efforts to end gender-based violence. Through the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence and the Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ Peoples, our government is working in partnership with First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities to develop policies and fund programs to end the national crisis facing Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. This work is essential to healing, justice and safety for Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, wherever they live.
"Our government is deeply committed to advancing reconciliation and to building lasting partnerships with Indigenous Peoples by supporting entrepreneurs, fostering economic opportunity and building an inclusive economy that leaves no one behind.
Stay connected
Follow the department on .
For easy access to government programs for businesses, download the Canada Business app.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Sun
an hour ago
- Toronto Sun
Events are being held across the country Saturday to mark Indigenous Peoples Day
Published Jun 21, 2025 • 1 minute read Andrew Starblanket of the Starblanket Dancers performs the grass dance during National Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations in Victoria Park on June 21, 2022 in Regina. Photo by KAYLE NEIS / Regina Leader-Post OTTAWA — Hundreds of events are planned across the country Saturday to mark Indigenous Peoples Day. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account First observed in 1996, Indigenous Peoples Day is meant to recognize First Nations, Inuit and Metis cultures and traditions. Prime Minister Mark Carney will take part in a closed event to mark the day. The office of Gov. Gen. Mary Simon said she will host youth at Rideau Hall in Ottawa to mark the day by crafting paper hearts with 'messages of reconciliation, hope and commitment.' The Governor General will plant the hearts in Rideau Hall's 'heart garden,' which honours Indigenous people who died in residential schools, along with survivors. 'Each heart is a symbol of our collective responsibility to listen to and carry forward their stories — of pain and disappointment, strength and courage — and to commit to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action,' Simon's office said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This year's Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival takes place Saturday and Sunday at Wesley Clover Parks in Ottawa. The festival features a competition powwow, traditional foods and teaching sessions. Starting Saturday, the Forks in Winnipeg will host Many Nations, One Heartbeat, an 11-day festival of Indigenous performances, games, fashion and crafts. Organizers say the festival will honour 'the stories, strength, and resilience of Indigenous communities, especially in this moment of significant displacement due to Manitoba's wildfire.' And in Toronto, the Na-Me-Res Traditional Powwow and Indigenous Arts Festival will take place Saturday at the Fort York National Historic Site, featuring traditional dances, live concerts and a food market. Columnists Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Editorial Cartoons Toronto & GTA
Toronto Sun
an hour ago
- Toronto Sun
First Nations youth say they're 'starting a movement' against major projects bills
Published Jun 21, 2025 • 4 minute read Indigenous children play in water-filled ditches in Attawapiskat, Ont. on April 19, 2016. Photo by Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — First Nations youth leaders are warning Canadians can expect a long, tense summer of protests as governments push forward with plans to fast-track major projects — and young people will be leading the charge. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'You will see us in your cities, your city's hubs,' said Ramon Kataquapit, a youth councillor with the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation and a member of Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario. The federal Liberal government's Bill C-5, which passed through the House of Commons Friday night, allows cabinet to quickly grant federal approvals for big industrial projects like mines, ports and pipelines. It sailed through a Commons committee in the early hours of Thursday with support from the Conservatives. And in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford's Conservatives have passed legislation allowing his government to designate 'special economic zones' where the provincial cabinet can exempt companies or projects from having to comply with any provincial law, provincial regulation or municipal bylaw. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Both pieces of legislation have met with fierce resistance from First Nations leaders who accuse Ottawa and Queen's Park of trampling on their rights and failing to consult with them in good faith. Kataquapit said First Nations youth are 'starting a movement' to protect their cultures and lands from what they see as increasing encroachment by governments looking to build major projects in a hurry. He compared both pieces of legislation to a rock falling off a mountain. 'You don't know how much momentum it's going to build,' he said. 'It might cause a mudslide and turn into something like an avalanche. 'This can turn into something much bigger, and a lot of our people — a lot of the youth — we see that.' While chiefs have been the most prominent First Nations voices in news coverage of the legislation, Kataquapit said young people were the driving force behind recent rallies against the fast-track bills in northern Ontario, at Queen's Park and on Parliament Hill. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He said they draw inspiration from the Anishinaabe Seven Fires Prophecy, which speaks of a 'seventh fire' generation that will bring back traditional knowledge and ways of living after a period of cultural dislocation. 'We were raised to be the seventh generation,' Kataquapit said. 'What I've been taught was that it's my role to wake people up and to really show just how much colonization has affected us, but (also) how much strength we have in our traditional identity, culture … 'The seven fires are ready to take the steps that our leadership are falling back on because they fought a good fight for their entire lives. It's just nature that you grow tired, scarred, traumatized.' Terra Roy, another youth councillor with Chiefs of Ontario, said First Nations youth can do more than just protest — they can engage with the land and with traditional knowledge as an act of resistance. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We have young people in Attawapiskat taking the rivers,' Roy said. 'I'm happy that we're returning to the land and continuing to occupy it.' Roy, who works as a liaison between Beausoleil First Nation and the private sector, spoke to The Canadian Press while attending a project management training session in Edmonton. Roy said the federal and provincial legislation makes their own work seem almost futile. 'I was like, 'Well, what the heck did I just get hired for then if (governments are) just going to bulldoze over everything I say?'' Roy said. 'I'm here trying to create a whole department for my community so that we can have a greater say in our treaty area and then (governments) are like, 'Oh, just kidding.' 'I'm angry. I'm frustrated, heartbroken, annoyed.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Much of that frustration comes from a sense of deja vu. First Nations say they've been in this position before, when legislation introduced by the Stephen Harper government to allow governments and businesses to push through projects without strict environmental assessment triggered the countrywide protest movement known as Idle No More. Roy vividly remembers sitting with their mother as a child as they took part in an Idle No More protest at a mall. 'It's frustrating that at 11 years old I was doing that, and now again at 23,' Roy said. 'If I'm tired of having to fight this again, I can only imagine how my grandmother feels.' Hanna Sewell, a nurse and a member of Batchewana First Nation near Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., said young people have to lead this fight because they're the ones who will have to live with the impacts of accelerated development. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'If the land is sick, we're going to be sick as well,' she said. 'We don't want this bill, and we are the future generations that are going to govern this land and save it.' Read More Pierre Debassige, a member of M'Chigeeng First Nation and youth councillor for Anishinabek Nation, said First Nations won't be the only ones to experience those impacts. 'If they start development in the Ring of Fire in the Far North, all those lakes, rivers all come down to the Great Lakes,' he said. 'If there's that contamination that comes down from the North, it's going to affect not only their communities, but here in southern Ontario.' Debassige said it's his generation's turn to step up. 'United we stand and we conquer, but divided we fall one by one,' he said. 'I'm always thinking of that seven generations behind me (and) what my great-great-great-great grandchildren are going to be doing. Maybe they'll see the work that I've done as a young person, (that I) fought for all of this.' Columnists Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Editorial Cartoons Sunshine Girls
Cision Canada
an hour ago
- Cision Canada
Media Advisory - Simultaneous launch of Canadian space technologies Français
LONGUEUIL, QC, June 21, 2025 /CNW/ - Several technologies funded by the Canadian Space Agency under the Space Technology Development Program will be launched into space by SpaceX. These projects are a testament to Canada's leadership in space innovation. EarthDaily Analytics will use high-precision thermal imagers to monitor plant transpiration. The data collected could help farmers make decisions about irrigation, fertilization and crop rotation. It could also provide precise information about areas at greatest risk of wildfires, in order to protect our communities. INO provided infrared cameras as part of this project. Galaxia will launch its first satellite, MÖBIUS-1, a software-defined satellite designed to carry various types of Earth observation sensors. The MÖBIUS constellation could be used for a variety of applications, such as defence, environmental monitoring, agriculture, infrastructure, maritime operations and transportation. GHGSat will add two satellites to its commercial constellation, bringing the company's total to 13 methane detection satellites and one CO 2 detection satellite. Mission Control will test its onboard artificial intelligence (AI) software and machine learning operations system SpacefarerAI™ in partnership with Spire Global. Their Persistence mission aims to show how AI can analyze satellite images directly in space, thereby eliminating the need to send all data to Earth for processing. Xona Space Systems will test Pulsar, a demonstration satellite designed to validate a new generation of satellite navigation from low Earth orbit. This technology could improve precision and reliability of positioning services, including in urban areas, remote areas and the Arctic. Also contributing to the GHGSat and EarthDaily Analytics satellites are ABB 's business unit in Quebec, supplying sophisticated optical sensors, and Xiphos Systems, providing high-performance onboard processors. These innovations demonstrate the ability of Canadian companies to develop innovative technologies that meet the needs of the space program and have strong commercial potential. Media who wish to speak with a Canadian Space Agency expert or a representative from one of these Canadian companies are asked to contact the Media Relations Office.
