Highway safety on NOMA’s priority list at AMO conference The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) made inroads on the highway safety file at a provincial conference this week, NOMA president Rick Dumas says. Dumas, who is also the Town of Marathon’s mayor, told Newswatch he and other municipal officials from the region met with transportation … Read more
‘A lot of unity’: NAN leader says provincial, federal laws have helped galvanize First Nations First Nations leaders across northern Ontario had “a very robust discussion” about two pieces of economic development legislation and what those laws mean for their communities, says a Nishnawbe Aski Nation deputy grand chief. Bobby Narcisse said discussion around the … Read more
Fire engulfs Wapekeka building where community member was killed by police Ontario Provincial Police say they’re investigating the cause of a fire that engulfed the youth centre in Wapekeka where a man was recently killed by police. An OPP spokesperson told Newswatch they were notified about the blaze around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 17. Police … Read more
Northern roadside attraction to be fixed up — but not this year An iconic Highway 11 roadside attraction will get some love and care. Greenstone municipal council has budgeted $205,000 to fix up the Beardmore Snowman. The nearly-11 metre-tall figure, sometimes dubbed “the world’s largest snowman,” is in need of repairs to the interior structure and … Read more
Webequie chief says the push is on for more housing A northern Ontario First Nation’s chief says more housing and the infrastructure to support it are crucial as his community’s population continues to grow. Webequie Chief Cornelius Wabasse told Newswatch, ideally, they’d be able to build 30 new homes this year, but realistically, that number … Read more
Revenue sharing agreement with airline nets First Nation over $1M WEBEQUIE — The chief of Webequie First Nation says a recent royalty payment from one of its business partners will be budgeted to improve the bottom line of the community’s various departments, like education and economic development. Officials and staff with North Star Air were … Read more
Provincial funding to support Indigenous development initiatives Ontario is making available $9.2 million in grants and funds to support Indigenous economic development initiatives through the province. Of the funds, $3.2 million comes from the Indigenous Economic Development Fund and $6 million comes from the Indigenous Community Capital Grants Program. Both funds support infrastructure development, community growth planning, … Read more
Mushkegowuk chiefs designate Ring of Fire as ‘protected homeland’ The Mushkegowuk Council of Chiefs passed a resolution at a meeting in Ottawa on Tuesday designating the Ring of Fire as a “protected homeland.” The resolution outlined how development and any projects or activities in support of development on the land could not be undertaken without … Read more
Toronto mayor asks feds to support sole-sourcing subway contract to Alstom Mayor Olivia Chow has thrown her weight behind the Ontario government’s call for 55 new subway trains to be built in Thunder Bay. Before the city can award Alstom a the contract, Chow said Tuesday that the federal government must give its consent. At … Read more
Protesters urge government to ‘Kill Bill 5’ Kevin Holland, the MPP for Thunder Bay–Atikokan, says the new Protect Ontario act doesn’t take away Indigenous rights. Lucille Atlookan sees it differently. “Yeah, that’s bullshit,” the Eabametoong First Nation member said Thursday. Atlookan was among more than 100 protesters outside the Progressive Conservative MPP’s constituency office on James … Read more