Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
Assembly of First Nations chiefs shared solemn words and prayers of mourning Tuesday for the Indigenous children who died in Canada's residential schools, striking a sombre tone at a virtual gathering that will culminate in the election of their new leader.
The AFN general assembly's normally ceremonial opening prayers by elders were interspersed Tuesday with statements of grief and, at times, anger at recent discoveries of unmarked graves at former residential schools.
Elder Garry Sault of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation shared his belief that First Nations chiefs must take this moment of reckoning to support their peoples and their communities through the sadness that has come with the confirmation of these burial sites, which were located by ground-penetrating radar in recent weeks.
"It's with sorrow that we have to greet this coming conference and find ways to testify on reconciliation with a government that seems not to care," Sault said.
"It's in this time we need chiefs that are strong so we can come together with one good mind so that we can bear our grief and our sorrow and turn it into a cry for justice for what happened to our people, for what happened to all of those children who were buried in the earth and are yet to be discovered. Our hearts cry out to them as they cry more and more."
Church-run, government-funded residential schools operated in Canada for more than a century, which some 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children were forced to attend after being removed from their families and communities.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 2015 report, which concluded the residential school system amounted to cultural genocide, detailed the harsh mistreatment including the emotional, physical and sexual abuse inflicted on Indigenous children at the institutions, where many died. There are now more than 4,000 names on the student death register maintained by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
The widespread expectation that there will be more discoveries means the pain and re-traumatization for many is "real and it's going to get difficult," Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare told the assembly.
"We have said loudly that our First Nations must take the responsibility to take care of our own children," he said.
"We are developing our own child well-being laws and it's time for the government to get out of the way. It is our responsibility, it is our jurisdiction."
Chief Stacey Laforme of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation noted the need for First Nations peoples to come together to help one another through this time of "hurt and anger."
He shared a poem he wrote for the children who never returned from residential schools.
"Time will tell their story. I will educate society so their memory is not lost. And when I am asked, 'What does reconciliation mean?' I will say I want their lives back. I want them to live, to soar. I want to hear their laughter, to see their smiles," Laforme said, reading from his poem.
"Give me that and I'll grant reconciliation."
Outgoing National Chief Perry Bellegarde was honoured as part of the opening ceremonies of the 42nd AFN annual general assembly Tuesday, ahead of a vote taking place Wednesday for a new national chief.
In a pre-recorded message, Bellegarde shared his appreciation for serving six years as leader and spokesperson for the advocacy organization's 634 First Nations, encompassing more than 900,000 people.
"I have always believed that we will prevail by coming together in co-operation, in partnership in unity and ceremony, and from there development processes that unite, rather than divide," Bellegarde said.
Seven candidates are vying to replace Bellegarde as the next national chief, including three women. The AFN has never been represented by a woman.
A resolution calling for a delayed election was discussed at length Tuesday, with several chiefs raising concern about the inability for some of their counterparts in British Columbia to participate in the virtual proceedings due to evacuations caused by ongoing wildfires.
Some also raised concerns about connectivity issues for some remote First Nations as well as the fact that the AFN charter does not allow for online elections.
The resolution was eventually defeated, paving the way for the virtual vote for a new national chief to go ahead Wednesday.
Several ballots are expected before a winner is declared on Wednesday. A candidate must secure 60 per cent of votes cast to win. After each round of voting, the candidate with the fewest ballots will be eliminated until one finally receives 60 per cent support.
The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program has a hotline to help residential school survivors and their relatives suffering with trauma invoked by the recall of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2021.
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
The trial of a man who admits he killed four women in Winnipeg is set to begin Wednesday, and a law professor says lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have multiple hurdles to clear for a defence of mental illness.
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
A first-of-its-kind Canadian research study is working towards a major medical breakthrough for a brain disorder, believed to be caused by repeated head injuries, that can only be detected after death.
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.