By Aaron Walker
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Windspeaker.com

More than two decades after modern treaty leaders first began calling for independent oversight, they are now urging Parliament to move forward on Bill C-10, An Act respecting the Commissioner for Modern Treaty Implementation. Leaders say the Act would finally close a long-standing accountability gap in how Canada lives up […]

By Daniel Smeenk
Local Journalism Initiative
Reporter
The Lake Report

Yoshi Takaoka, manager and head sommelier at Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Masaki Sushi, has become one of 46 people in the world — and the only Canadian — to earn a master sake sommelier designation. He received the designation earlier this year during a course in Portland, Ore. Takaoka said such courses are […]

By Clint Fleury
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
TBnewswatch.com

THUNDER BAY – Transit riders will not see changes to bus service levels this summer. In a 7-4 vote city council has rejected the transit’s proposed summer schedule adjustments. Couns. Rajni Agarwal, Mark Bentz, Shelby Ch’ng, Andrew Foulds, Greg Johnsen, Dominic Pasqualino, and Michael Zussino voted against the changes, while […]

By Cara McKenna
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
IndigiNews

Content warning: This story details police violence towards Indigenous people. Please look after your spirit and read with care. The Winnipeg Police Service has announced charges against a security guard alleged to have assaulted an Indigenous man last weekend using brass knuckles — a weapon outlawed in “Canada.” The 23-year-old […]

By Laura Balanko-Dickson
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
lbalankodickson@fortfrances.com

Cassandra Spade, a local lawyer and member of Mishkeegogamang First Nation, will be featured in the Grand Council of Treaty #3’s Here’s a Thought virtual speaker series on March 17, detailing her personal journey in learning to speak Anishinaabemowin as a second language and teaching it to others. “My session […]

By Liam Oliver Neilson
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
lneilson@fortfrances.com

An annual event that’s always sure to put smile on the faces it draws from near and far, the Nestor Falls Winter Carnival has grown into a staple of Northwestern Ontario’s winters. As such a popular tradition, it can make visitors wonder how it started in the first place. The […]

By Times Staff

Despite warming trends, winter conditions continue across the North West Region. The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is reminding snowmobile riders to make safety their top priority every time they head out on the trails. The OPP says they have seen several fatalities in their jurisdiction over the course of winter […]

By Laura Balanko-Dickson
Staff writer
lbalankodickson@fortfrances.com

In the early hours of Tuesday, Mar. 3, a total lunar eclipse, sometimes called a blood moon, was visible to much of North and South America, but stargazers in the Rainy River District once more lost out due to weather. “A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth is between the Moon […]

By Carl Clutchey
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Chronicle-Journal

Rural veterinarians who visit farms for livestock checkups and emergencies will see their compensation increase by nine per cent under a revamped provincial financial assistance program starting on April 1. The upgrade and other changes to Ontario’s veterinary assistance program (VAP) — including additional eligible types of livestock — were […]

By Sandi Krasowski
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Chronicle-Journal

The Kinross Gold Corporation’s Great Bear Project near Red Lake will be reviewed under Ontario’s “one project, one process” framework. Mines Minister Stephen Lecce announced the designation last week. The streamlined process allows Ontario’s Ministry of Energy and Mines to act as a single point of contact to co-ordinate all […]

By Matt Prokopchuk
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
SNnewswatch.com

NIPIGON — Prolonged and frequent closures of the Trans-Canada are causing a number of issues in communities the highway bisects. That’s according to Nipigon Mayor Suzanne Kukko and Greenstone’s Jamie McPherson — both municipalities the highway runs right through. “This has certainly been one for the ages,” McPherson told Newswatch […]