Latest news with #Indigenous
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Mark Carney's government reviewing suggested changes to infrastructure bill
OTTAWA — The Liberal government is reviewing a series of changes to add oversight and restrain some — but not all — of the extraordinary powers created under its controversial legislation to fast-track major development projects. The proposed law, Bill C-5, has sparked warnings of Indigenous resistance in the coming weeks, along with condemnation from environmental groups, and some reservations within the Liberal caucus. But the government insists the legislation is necessary in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, after the Liberals won a minority government in the April 28 election while promising to supercharge economic growth and reduce Canada's reliance on the unpredictable United States. A rare alliance between Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals and Pierre Poilievre's Declaring the need for speed to get new projects like mines, ports and pipelines approved for construction in less than two years, Prime Minister Mark Carney's administration is ramming the bill through the House of Commons over the objections of opposition parties this week, with votes anticipated Friday on a host of amendments proposed during a marathon parliamentary committee meeting that finished just after midnight Thursday morning. Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill, Liberal House Leader Steven MacKinnon said the government was reviewing the proposed amendments, and that he expects the bill to pass in the Senate next week after it goes up for a vote on third reading in the House on Friday. So far, the bill has passed at a rapid clip through the Commons with the support of Liberal and Conservative MPs, with the Bloc Québécois, New Democrats and the lone Green MP opposing it. Asked about the bill Thursday, Carney was adamant the processes it creates will respect Indigenous rights and include the 'full embrace of free, prior and informed consent' — a key provision of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He insisted it will ensure participation and consultation with Indigenous communities in choosing and reviewing projects to fast-track, including for environmental and other conditions the developers will need to follow. 'Consultation, co-operation, engagement, participation is at the heart of C-5,' Carney said. 'And that is how you build a nation, and that's very much how we've designed it.' Provincial laws seeking to fast-track development under the spectre of American tariffs have also faced criticism in recent weeks, including Ontario's Bill 5 that prompted allegations the government is infringing on Indigenous rights. Amid controversy about fast-tracked mining projects, Ford is sitting down with dozens of As written , the federal law includes measures to reduce federal barriers to trade and labour mobility within Canada. The criticism has centred on the other part of the bill, which aims to create a special process that gives the federal cabinet the power to choose and fast-track development projects it deems to be in the 'national interest.' The current version of the law says the government may consider any factor it sees fit, and gives the federal cabinet the power to skirt laws and regulations — including environmental protections — used to assess chosen projects for approval. The bill says the framework to choose projects to fast-track will expire after five years. The opposition parties' amendments include measures to increase parliamentary oversight of how the law is used. One proposed change calls for the creation of a special committee to examine how the law is being applied, similar to the body of MPs that was automatically created when the federal government triggered the Emergencies Act to quash the so-called 'Freedom Convoy' in February 2022. Other amendments would require the government to disclose documents it uses to choose whether a project gets fast-tracked, publish an advisory 30 days before bringing a new project into the process, and release a report on Indigenous consultations 60 days after a development is authorized through the new law. The proposed changes also aim at the special powers the bill would create, with amendments to limit which laws the federal cabinet would be allowed to skirt in the name of approving a development project. One of the amendments says the government would not be able to do this when Parliament is dissolved or suspended. Another — supported by both the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois — says the government wouldn't be able to circumvent laws that include the Criminal Code, ethics and conflict of interest legislation, the Indian Act, and the Official Languages Act. The committee shot down other proposed amendments, including changes to write the Liberals' professed two-year deadline for project approval's into the bill, and to reduce the sunset clause of the special fast-tracking process from five to two years. At Wednesday's long committee meeting, Lance Haymond, chief of the Kebaowek First Nation in Québec, warned the lack of consultation in drafting the legislation could lead to protests like the 'Idle No More' movement against the former Conservative government's bid to rewrite project assessments in 2012. 'The conditions for an Idle No More 2.0 uprising are being written into the law as we speak,' Haymond said. MacKinnon defended the bill Thursday, and shrugged off a question about how some Liberals have raised questions about concerns from Indigenous leaders and groups like the Assembly of First Nations. 'We believe that by moving ahead on projects, we will continue to give Canadians the confidence that we can get big projects done, can create jobs for skilled trades workers in this country, can attract investment, and can create economic development opportunities for Indigenous Peoples,' he said. With files from Althia Raj
Cision Canada
3 hours ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
RBC deepens its commitment to advancing reconciliation and human rights with the launch of its inaugural Reconciliation Action Plan Français
The bank thanks 400+ First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, employees and business owners who shared their insights to help inform RBC's Reconciliation Action Plan and journey forward TORONTO, June 20, 2025 /CNW/ - Today, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) published its Reconciliation Action Plan: Pathways to Economic Prosperity – a strategic framework outlining the bank's measurable, long-term commitment towards reconciliation and plans to address the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's Calls to Action 92 1 for Corporate Canada. Building on RBC's longstanding history 2 of working with Indigenous communities across Canada, the plan prioritizes the organization's actions and investments across five key pathways – Economy, People, Community, Environment and Leadership – to help drive inclusive economic growth, create positive social change and advance reconciliation. "At RBC, we believe that long-term Indigenous prosperity is at the heart of a growing economy and thriving society for Canada," said Dave McKay, President & CEO, RBC. "Helping advance reconciliation efforts by collaborating with Indigenous peoples, unlocking more opportunities for Indigenous participation, and creating greater access to capital will be critical to boosting Canada's long-term competitiveness. Our bank is deeply committed to doing more and working with Indigenous communities across Canada to help deliver on this ambition." Building upon the foundational progress RBC has made over the last several decades, the bank re-imagined the mandate of its Indigenous Banking team and leadership to transform its approach to Indigenous collaboration. Last year, RBC appointed Chinyere Eni, a commercial banking executive, a member of Little Pine First Nation (Cree) and a second-generation Nigerian (Igbo) to help shape RBC's Indigenous strategy for the future. In May 2024, RBC Origins was launched, along with a new Truth and Reconciliation Office led by Brittanee Laverdure, a member of Liard First Nation (Kaska Dena). The team grew with net new leadership mandates covering Transaction Advisory Services, Human Rights, Regional Banking, Strategy and Portfolio Initiatives. Today, these mandates are led by team members who bring decades of collective experience working directly with Indigenous communities. In collaboration with Phil Fontaine, Special Advisor to RBC and former three-term National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, RBC Origins aims to bring to life one of the guiding principles of RBC's Purpose Framework – Ideas for People and Planet™ of advancing human rights and reconciliation. The bank is committed to doing so by strengthening the intersection of its work holistically across RBC's Indigenous banking, sustainability, and human rights strategies. RBC has also evolved its strategy and community engagement model to build trust-based relationships and amplify Indigenous voices to help steward the next chapter of the bank's reconciliation journey. Chinyere Eni, Head, RBC Origins notes: "Many of the 1.8 million Indigenous Peoples in Canada 3 continue to live at the periphery of economic well-being. Creating meaningful change that will last for generations requires a focus on scalable systemic approaches to Nation-to-Nation building, enhancing Indigenous access to capital, fostering financial and community well-being, and creating opportunities to empower the next generation of Indigenous talent, entrepreneurship, sustainable development and innovation." The reconciliation journey requires deliberate and sustained efforts toward responsible and respectful practices. As such, RBC's Reconciliation Action Plan serves as the foundation for effective implementation, continuous measurement and monitoring, and transparency. "Developing this plan has been a meaningful journey unto itself. There's been a tremendous mobilization of leadership, talent and engagement within RBC and the process has served as an important catalyst to transform the way the bank intends to engage with Indigenous communities going forward," Fontaine adds. To help ensure that an effective methodology was in place to generate candid feedback, RBC Origins collaborated with lead agency, BOOM InterTribal, an Indigenous-owned and -led strategic and creative partner. BOOM engaged Archipel Research & Consulting to solicit insights and ideas from more than 400 Inuit, First Nations and Métis communities, employees and business owners across Canada. These insights helped inform the bank's strategic priorities and investments across five pathways: Economy: To contribute to the prosperity of Inuit, First Nations, and Métis communities through tailored advice, programs and financial solutions aligning to The RBC ® Inclusive Opportunities Blueprint. People: To be an employer of choice for Métis, First Nations and Inuit talent and to foster a supportive environment across Canada to help shape the future of RBC. Community: To promote the well-being and economic growth of Inuit, Métis and First Nations communities by supporting the areas of greatest needs impacting Indigenous communities. Environment: To advance environmental stewardship efforts and sustainable practices aligned with the RBC ® Climate Blueprint. Leadership: To advance reconciliation through greater leadership, governance, transparency and accountability across RBC's Canadian operations. Launching on the eve of National Indigenous Peoples Day and the summer solstice, the Reconciliation Action Plan is guided by the theme of 'Celestial Cycles'–a creative concept by BOOM InterTribal to reflect the cycles long used by Indigenous Peoples to navigate movement and decision-making. The concept mirrors RBC's own journey of reflection, continuous learning and evolution, guided by its Purpose. Emily Kewageshig, an Anishinaabe artist and storyteller from Saugeen First Nation No. 29 visually brought this to life in a way that honours the past while inspiring the future throughout the report. RBC's Reconciliation Action Plan will be reviewed in 2027 to evaluate the bank's progress, with subsequent biennial updates. RBC looks forward to continued progress and anticipates announcing an update later this summer related to the Economy pathway of its Reconciliation Action Plan. To learn more about RBC Origins and RBC's Reconciliation Action Plan, visit Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of certain securities laws, including the "safe harbour" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any applicable Canadian securities legislation, with respect to RBC's Reconciliation Action Plan. For cautionary statements relating to the information in this press release, refer to the "Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" section in RBC's Reconciliation Action Plan. About RBC Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 97,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our more than 19 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn more at We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at ® Registered Trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. For media inquiries, contact: Lara Banlaoi, RBC Corporate Communications
Toronto Star
3 hours ago
- General
- Toronto Star
‘Gather round!' Toronto high schoolers get hands-on lesson in the lost history of Afro-Ojibwe farming
They don't look the part, but they're resurrecting an old agricultural practice, one developed in southwestern Ontario by the descendants of escaped Black slaves and Indigenous people, and they're doing it at the corner of Lawrence Avenue East and The Donway.
Hamilton Spectator
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Stalled Waterdown bypass construction not expected to restart until 2027
Construction on the chronically delayed Waterdown bypass is not expected to restart until 2027. Work on the portion of the bypass east of Centre Road has been stalled since 2022 due to archeological studies and findings. While the project was expected to recommence in 2024, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) told the City of Hamilton's archeologists then they did not have 'consent' to proceed. Work on the section of the bypass from Centre Road east to Avonsyde Boulevard is 'currently scheduled to begin in 2027' as the Grindstone Creek bridge replacement project on Dundas Street East is being prioritized in 2025 and 2026, the city's acting director of engineering services Brian Hollingworth said in an email. He noted the bypass project 'is dependent on the completion of archeological work along the corridor.' Jackie Kennedy, the city's director of engineering services, had previously said in an April memo it was 'expected that construction will commence in 2026.' Hollingworth said the 'scope and timing of further archeological work is still being finalized,' adding the city continues 'to work closely with the Indigenous partners in developing short-term and long-term strategies to protect Indigenous heritage in line with archeological best practices and requirements.' Flamborough councillor Ted McMeekin said in an email the process 'involves a provincially-mandated archeological study with three identified Indigenous groups.' He noted two groups have signed off on the project, but it has not been endorsed by the Haudenosaunee. 'Discussions continue in the hope of some forward movement,' he said. However, Aaron Detlor, a lawyer with HDI, a group that speaks on behalf of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council, said they have tried to set up a meeting with the city, to no avail. He said the institute reached out to the city in September 2024 and didn't get a response. The council is a group of hereditary Haudenosaunee leaders separate from the Six Nations band council. The institute again reached out to the city in May, and while the city said they wanted to connect, Detlor said HDI is still waiting to hear back. Detlor said they remain concerned about a 'flawed' environmental assessment process for the bypass — which dates back to 2012 — that he argued did not address Haudenosaunee treaty rights or involve hereditary leaders. The Waterdown bypass is slated to continue east from Centre Road toward Parkside Drive and Avonsyde Boulevard. The work in question, from Centre Road to Parkside Drive and Avonsyde Boulevard, has a budget of more than $58 million funded through development charges, Hollingworth said. He noted that the portion of the bypass will also include the extension of a water main at an additional budget of approximately $1.2 million, which will be funded through the rates budget. Hollingworth said the work required on the bypass portion east of Centre Road 'involves moving forward with elements of the Class Environmental Assessment, which includes land acquisition.' The project — which Hollingworth said is meant to reduce congestion in the community — involves the construction of roads, sidewalks, multi-use paths, water, stormwater management, traffic control devices such as roundabouts and traffic signals, bridges, culverts and landscaping, along with environmental compensation, archeological works and all permits. A portion of the bypass west of Mosaic Drive to Highway 6 is not currently included in the 10-year capital budget forecast and has an estimated cost of $13.7 million, Hollingworth said. That section is technically divided into two parts — with one constructed by a developer and the other the responsibility of the city's public works department. According to city documents, the timeline for construction of both sections is 'undetermined.' However, Kennedy said in the April memo, with the additional scope of the archeological investigations and delays to the project timeline, an inflation adjustment is required. The 2025 capital budget will be updated to reflect these additional costs, the memo said. The city did not reply to questions about an updated budget number. Kennedy noted in the April memo the detailed design for the portion of the Waterdown east-west bypass project from Centre Road to Parkside Drive has been in progress since 2019 and an archeological investigation has been underway since 2021. Construction on parts of the bypass have been underway since at least 2016 — although discussions on the project date back to the 1990s. The project is divided into two sections — the east-west bypass that is eventually planned to connect from Highway 6 to Centre Road, before connecting with Parkside Drive and Avonsyde Boulevard. The north-south section will run from Dundas Street, south on Burke Street to Mountain Brow Road, before travelling south on Waterdown Road to Highway 403. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Boston Globe
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘Native Prospects,' a contemporary view of the American landscape through an Indigenous lens
Kay WalkingStick's 'Thom, Where Are the Pocumtucks (The Oxbow),' 2020. It's her take on Thomas Cole's famous work "View From Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, After a Thunderstorm – the Oxbow,' from 1836. Image courtesy of Kay WalkingStick/JSP Art Photography/Hales, London and New York It's hard to even write those words, true though they may be. American art history offers a broader reading of American history writ large, if you read between the lines; and in the realm of landscape painting, what's left from the frame is often as significant as what's not. 'Native Prospects,' curated by Scott Manning Stevens, who is Akwesasne Mohawk and the director of Native American and Indigenous studies at Syracuse University, is an exercise in history much in need of revision. Importantly, and uniquely, the exhibition is not a simple point/counterpoint in the depiction of the American landscape — though there is that, and we're getting there — but a consideration of entirely different points of view: One colonial, one Indigenous, and the gulf, pictorially and historically, that exists between them. Advertisement The counterpoint is bluntly provided by the Cherokee painter Kay WalkingStick, who can be relied on for such things; her lifetime project has been one of revision at its most provocative. Earlier this year at Thomas Cole's 'Landscape Scene from 'The Last of the Mohicans,' 1827. Thomas Cole/Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, Gift of Stephen C. Clark/Richard Walker Over decades, WalkingStick, now in her late 80s, has painted American vistas much as Cole and his peers did: as grand visions of an untamed wild. Often, she coopts their exact framing, a blunt reclamation of lost land from their gaze. But WalkingStick overlays her paintings with the specific patterning of the Indigenous people who live there, invoking a kind of seance for the land's rightful stewards, most often excised from the frame. In 'Native Prospects,' her one painting is a compositional replica of one of Cole's most famous works, 'View From Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, After a Thunderstorm — the Oxbow,' from 1836. In her version, she softens the contours of land and sky and abandons the hand-of-God maelstrom of unearthly mist looming in the heavens, wraithlike and coal-gray. The title of the 2020 piece says much: 'Thom, Where Are the Pocumtucks,' the tribe native to the region, conspicuously absent in his frame. WalkingStick calls them forth with a bright floral pattern tracking the bottom of the frame, an ancestral motif that stamps their presence on the land. Absence, meet presence. Enough said. Advertisement Kay WalkingStick's 'Thom, Where Are the Pocumtucks (The Oxbow),' 2020. Image courtesy of Kay WalkingStick/JSP Art Photography/Hales, London and New York But 'Native Prospects' is less about confrontation than it is assertion of difference, persistence, and a line drawn from past to present. That part matters: Indigenous artists here are contemporary, a declaration of a thriving culture that survived colonial deprivations of the land to flourish. Colonial artists in this exhibition are anchored in the past, often an ugly one, and tied to those deprivations: Cole's 'Solitary Lake in New Hampshire,' of a lone Indigenous man minimized against a glorious alpine scene, was painted in 1830, the same year as the federal Indian Removal Act went into effect, requiring all tribes east of the Mississippi to uproot and move west. His 'Landscape Scene from The Last of the Mohicans,' 1827, is the visual embodiment of James Fenimore Cooper's 'vanishing race' epic (the two were neighbors, and fellow aesthetic travelers). 'Native Prospects' connects Indigenous art on a continuum, from a faraway past to the here and now. How far? One image is a photo recreation of a Powhatan's Mantle, four deerhides sewn together and studded with shell and sinew to depict a human figure flanked by animals. Given to English colonists by Wahunsenacawh, the chief of the Powhatan Confederacy 400 years ago in modern-day Virginia, it's believed to be a kind of map — a depiction of land, and an expression of sovereignty. Jeremy Frey's 'First Light,' 2023. Jeremy Frey / Photography by Jared Lank Nearby, the immediate present: Teresa Baker's 2019 'Forest‚' an abstraction of green and gray — yarn and, poetically, astroturf — mimics the deerhide's scale. With strands of willow dangling from its surface, 'Forest' rebukes abstraction's central tenet of being unmoored in the physcial world; instead Baker, who is Mandan and Hidatsa, anchors her piece in the northern plains, where she grew up. Advertisement Just to the left of Powhatan's Mantle is Alan Michelson (Mohawk member of the Six Nations of the Grand River), "Third Bank of the River (Panorama)," detail, 2024. Courtesy of the artist. Alan Michelson And Alan Michelson, who Boston audiences might know best from 'The Knowledge Keepers,' Next to it, Michelson's 'Third Bank of the River (Panorama),' from 2024, adopts the colored bands of the wampum belt in a broad photo collage, infusing its linear color scheme with the landscape of the riverbank of the Mohawk reservation strung along its crest. From the distant past to the here and now, land has meant sovereignty, and survival. In the eerie vista of Michelson's panorama, you can start to imagine the future. Advertisement NATIVE PROSPECTS: INDIGENEITY AND LANDSCAPE Through July 6 . Farnsworth Art Museum , 16 Museum St., Rockland, Maine . 207-596-6457, Murray Whyte can be reached at
