Category: 2012 06 01 2012

The clanging of change

Throughout my neighbourhood in east-end Montreal this evening at exactly 8 pm, people stepped out onto their doorsteps or walked around the block banging pots and pans. This activity carried on for about 15 to 20 minutes all over the city (as I could read in the immediate Facebook updates) ... read more ››

Drug and alcohol busts result in significant seizures

  The Eeyou Eenou Police Force’s efforts to curb drug and alcohol trafficking in Cree communities saw success this spring, as officers apprehended a handful of suspects in possession of almost $25,000 of illicit substances. The first of the busts occurred March 31, when an officer in Whapmagoostui stopped a man carrying ... read more ››

New Montreal hangar for Air Creebec

Due to the important role that Air Creebec will be playing in the development of the Plan Nord, the provincial government has granted the airline $1.3 million in non-refundable financial support to relocate its hangar at Montréal-Trudeau Airport. In total, this project, worth an estimated $9.9 million, will create nine jobs ... read more ››

Former Chief of Pikogan passes away

Former Chief Jean-Paul Rankin passed away on May 20, 2012 in Pikogan, Quebec. The community will remember him for his active political and social involvement. Rankin served on the council of this Abitibiwinni First Nation for eight years before being elected Chief on June 17, 2011. However, he resigned for personal ... read more ››

Beaverfest promoted by Mattagami First Nation

  I often think about how much my people, the Cree of James Bay, owe our lives to the animals, birds and fish on the land. Without these creatures we would not have survived. My ancestors actually followed a nomadic lifestyle that revolved around following food sources. We moved on the ... read more ››

Weddings galore

  The summer wedding season is about to get into full swing with many couples taking advantage of the beautiful weather. Getting ready for a wedding can get pretty stressful with all the planning involved and coordinating needed. So how is a newly engaged couple going to handle such a daunting ... read more ››

Sacred right

Visit the Mohawk community of Kahnawake and the number of smoke shops within the community is staggering. Along the major routes cutting through the reserve, smoke shops line the roadsides. Every second property seems to have a small shed on it selling cigarettes. It seems like everyone is involved in ... read more ››

Disconnected

  Sometime toward the end of the first week of April, the people who ran sites of the Community Access Program (CAP), bringing free or low-cost internet access to libraries and community centres across Canada, received a startling email: effective the week before, their funding was cut off. According to Industry Canada, ... read more ››

Too good to be true

With the obesity rates in Eeyou Istchee exploding, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the kinds of products sold to those battling the bulge like so-called “nutrition shakes” have also started to rear their heads around the communities. Right before Goose Break, we at the Nation were contacted ... read more ››

The Nation’s a winner

  It’s not very often that we at the Nation toot our own horn but once per year we gather with about 30 other Quebec-based community newspapers and magazines for the annual Quebec Community Newspapers Association (QCNA) conference and awards banquet. And, once again, I am proud to say that we ... read more ››

Let them eat caribou

On May 16, Olivier De Schutter, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, concluded a politically contentious 11-day visit to Canada for an investigation into poverty and hunger. During his investigation De Schutter visited several First Nation communities and lower-income urban areas. His visit and findings sparked a political ... read more ››

Power to the people

Nothing else sounds quite like a riot squad’s concussion grenade. It’s more than a gunshot, more than a firework. The explosion it makes sounds more like the word “boom” than anything else you’ve ever heard explode. And when it happens right above your head, no matter what you’re doing, it’s ... read more ››

Illegal practices

  Although the Plan Nord has the potential to bring millions of dollars of investment into northern Quebec, and specifically Native communities, it seems as though some have come to see it as a way of making a quick buck. In a statement released by the Chibougamau Chamber of Commerce on May ... read more ››

Celebrating Eeyou Istchee’s finest

The Wemindji Community Hall was filled with police on April 13, but there was no emergency and no arrests were made. The community of Wemindji held a banquet recognizing the accomplishments of the Eeyou Eenou Police Force and to give back to those who have given so much to the ... read more ››

Commodes throughout the ages

  There are a few things that mankind cannot avoid and must deal with – yes, it’s about what to do with all that human waste we pump out from our innards on a daily basis. Back in the day, going about your personal business and hygiene wasn’t really that personal, ... read more ››

Strawberry Fields Forever

  One must love the government no matter what. At least this is the feeling one gets when they take a look at Quebec’s Bill 78 entitled An Act To Enable Students To Receive Instruction From The Postsecondary Institutions They Attend. Nowhere in Bill 78 is any real enabling of students to ... read more ››