Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Before dance, life was much different for 19-year-old Jax Wood.
"I used to be really depressed. I was always at home. I even lost connection with family," the resident of St. Theresa Point, Man., told CTV National News.
All that changed after joining Outside Looking In, a program introducing dance classes to remote Indigenous communities in Canada.
On Thursday, the organization marked its 15th annual showcase — one of the largest Indigenous youth performances in Canada — at the Meridian Hall in downtown Toronto.
The showcase featured more than 100 performers representing 20 First Nations across Canada, some of whom have never left their home communities, as well as special musical guests DJ Shub and Snotty Nose Rez Kids. The students also receive a high school credit.
Wood, who this year danced at the showcase for the third time, said she is closer to family and more social since taking part in Outside Looking In.
The program, she said, helped her find who she is.
It's a story others who have taken part in the annual event share.
Also in his third year, Jeremiah Knott of Wasagamack First Nation in Manitoba said the program helped him make more friends.
"It was so exciting to see so much people cheering for us," he said.
Shantelle Geyshick of Lac La Croix First Nation in Ontario performed in the showcase 15 years ago and, this year, joined her daughter Amaya on stage.
"It's very empowering. It's a really good feeling, it's very emotional too," Shantelle said.
"That was a very, very special moment to me," Amaya said. "I don't think I'm ever going to forget that."
Watching backstage as those who have gone through the program now host the show can be emotional for Outside Looking In founder Tracee Smith.
"It's nice to see them start it, grow and become amazing people. It's so gratifying," she said.
Wanting to change how people view First Nations teens who come from remote communities, Smith said the program aims to provide a sense of community to those kids "that were kind of lonely."
Although the COVID-19 pandemic limited travel and the ability to offer dance classes, the organization kept other programs, such as their entrepreneurship business course, alive virtually, she said.
It also gave time for the organization to do some back-end work on the dance program, so when the time came it could return "full steam."
"It feels great to finally be back on stage again after two years,” Smith said. “So we were waiting for this day and we're finally here today.
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
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.