Fairbanks Four freed as judge accepts deal to throw out indictments, convictions
Courtesy April Monroe Frick/thefairbanksfour.com
By Sam Friedman, News Miner.com, Dec 17, 2015
FAIRBANKS—The Fairbanks Four are free as 5:15 p.m. Thursday evening under terms of a negotiated settlement.
The four men, who’ve long fought their conviction for the 1997 killing of Fairbanks teenager John Hartman, had their murder convictions erased under a deal that’s similar but not identical to one proposed last week.
Marvin Roberts was released on parole earlier this year, but the other three men — George Frese, Kevin Pease and Eugene Vent — had been in jail since their arrests in October 1997.
Tsawwassen First Nation votes down controversial LNG facility
Proposed facility would have produced up to 5 million tonnes of LNG per year
CBC News, Dec 17, 2015
The Tsawwassen First Nation has rejected plans to build an LNG export facility just north of the B.C. Ferries terminal.
In a vote on Wednesday night, 53 per cent said ‘no’ to allowing the 32-hectare project on the nation’s traditional land. Read the rest of this entry
World’s lakes are warming surprisingly quickly due to climate change
Lakes around the world are warming, and that’s expected to lead to an increase in algae blooms like this one on Lake Erie in 2011, which made tap water undrinkable in places like Ohio. (NOAA/Associated Press)
Canadian lakes, including those that are ice-covered in winter, are warming twice as fast as others
By Emily Chung, CBC News, Dec 17, 2015
Lakes around the world are warming surprisingly quickly due to climate change, threatening the global water supply. And lakes in Canada are some of the fastest-warming in the world, a new study shows. Read the rest of this entry
RCMP officer sued by brain-injured man for jail cell takedown faces new allegations
Robert Wright of Terrace, B.C., is pictured on a hospital bed in a handout photo released on Friday October 3, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO
2 other aboriginal men subject to similar violent treatment, court documents say
By Eric Rankin, Yvette Brend, CBC News, Dec 16, 2015
An RCMP officer who was involved in a 2012 jail cell takedown that left a B.C. man with permanent brain damage, is now facing allegations of using excessive force in the arrests of two other First Nations men. Read the rest of this entry
Maliseet First Nations ‘dismayed’ by Sisson Mine approval
New Brunswick needed to accommodate aboriginal rights before approving EIA, says lawyer
CBC News, Dec 16, 2015
A lawyer representing the six Maliseet First Nations in New Brunswick says the communities are “dismayed” to hear the province has issued environmental impact assessment approval to the Sisson Mine project before concluding aboriginal accommodation discussions with them.
“It was sudden and in our view, it was premature,” said Dominique Nouvet in an interview on Information Morning Fredericton on Wednesday. Read the rest of this entry
Stop the Klamath Agreements, Save our Wild Salmon
Oni Rose Orcutt stands in the algae contaminated Trinity River, where her ancestors have fished since time immemorial (Photo contributed by Oni’s mother)
Will Senator Greg Walden attempt to slam through fraudulent legislation for the smoke and mirror Klamath agreement?
December 15th 2015 (Upper Klamath Basin, Oregon)
The infamous Klamath water Agreements appear to be on their final days. Rumor has it that Tuesday December 15th Senator Greg Walden will attempt to slam through fraudulent legislation for the smoke and mirror Klamath agreement. But there’s a catch. The bill as it stands today will no longer include the language for dam removal, which has been a primary bargained for benefit to signatory tribes to improve historic Klamath River wild salmon runs that have been irreversibly damaged by settler occupancy. Read the rest of this entry
Aboriginal children at residential schools often buried in unmarked graves, report reveals
Native children in a residential school.
by Marlene Leung, CTV News, Dec 15, 2015
Aboriginal children attending residential schools died at a higher rate than school-aged children in the general population, and were often buried in unmarked graves, according to the final report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The commission released its final report Tuesday afternoon, marking the culmination of six years of research and interviews with more than 6,000 residential school survivors and their families. Read the rest of this entry
Highway of Tears gets $3M for transportation safety plan
Billboard warns against hitch hiking along Highway 16 in northern BC, also known as the “Highway of Tears” for the high number of missing/murdered women.
Funding comes after a recent meeting between transportation officials and First Nations leaders in the area
CBC News, Dec 14, 2015
The B.C. government is committing $3 million to improve public transit along B.C.’s so-called Highway of Tears.
The funding comes following a recent meeting between transportation officials and First Nations leaders in the area, to address concerns about the number of women who have gone missing or been murdered while hitchhiking Highway 16, which runs between Prince George and Prince Rupert. Read the rest of this entry
Winnipeg police charge man, 53, with second-degree murder in Tina Fontaine death
Tina Fontaine, whose body was found in Winnipeg’s Red River on Aug 17, 2014.
by APTN National News, December 11, 2015
Winnipeg police have charged a 53-year-old man with second-degree murder in the death of Tina Fontaine.
Raymond Joseph Cormier, 53, was arrested Wednesday in the Vancouver area.
Fontaine, 15, was pulled from Winnipeg’s Red River on Aug. 17 2014. Read the rest of this entry
Rule changes to reserve lands mark new hope for indigenous businesses
by Jeff Gray, The Globe and Mail, Dec 10, 2015
A proposal for a gas station, restaurant and gift shop alongside Highway 69 near Parry Sound, Ont., is more than a small business plan: It’s a sign of a new era for the tiny Shawanaga First Nation.
About three hours north of Toronto, the Shawanaga First Nation has about 200 on-reserve members and nearly 70 per cent unemployment. But Chief Wayne Pamajewon says things are set to change, thanks to a process that has just granted the band more direct control over its own lands.
