On June 27, the Cree Nation Government and Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced the signing of a landmark conservation agreement to protect the lake sturgeon of the Southern Hudson Bay-James Bay, a species of special concern under the country’s Species at Risk Act (SARA).
In a moment that sent shockwaves through Indigenous communities across Canada, RoseAnne Archibald was removed as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations June 29. The decision, reached through a non-confidence motion, raised questions about accountability, transparency and the path forward for the AFN.
After an extremely dry June, rains in early July helped contain many of the large blazes still raging across much of Quebec. Although three fires remained out of control in Eeyou Istchee, firefighting crews were making steady progress as barriers ensured communities were not currently at danger.
John Abbott College held a special graduation ceremony June 27 to celebrate the achievements of 10 recent graduates of the Iyeskuwiiu Springboard to CEGEP program.
As improving weather conditions and international firefighting reinforcements slowed the spread of forest fires in northern Quebec, evacuated residents of Ouje-Bougoumou and Chibougamau were happy to begin returning home June 12.
Kanesatake residents are increasingly unnerved by an environmental crisis in the Mohawk community west of Montreal. During a May 25 demonstration in front of Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Marc Miller’s Montreal office, they called for an independent inquiry into an illegal toxic waste dump that continues to operate despite losing its license two years ago.
As forest fires ravaged large areas of southern Eeyou Istchee in early June, Ouje-Bougoumou was completely evacuated and Waswanipi was relocating its most vulnerable people. As of June 8, 137 fires were active across the province, most out of control, down from 149 the previous day as cooler weather and firefighting reinforcements began taming some of the blazes.
The grand opening of the Home Dialysis Training Centre and Respiratory Clinic in Waskaganish was celebrated May 16 as a step toward bringing more Cree people with diabetes home to Eeyou Istchee. Ispeyimuunikaitmikw – the Hope Centre – will allow patients to conduct peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis treatments from the comfort of their homes.
The conservation movement was celebrated at the largest ever First Nations National Guardians Gathering in Ottawa May 9-11. Since the first gathering in 2016, the number of guardians programs across the country has quadrupled from 30 to more than 120.
Canada has agreed to pay $800 million to five First Nations to settle a land claims dispute in British Columbia, acknowledging that it failed to honour a treaty signed over a century ago.
