Manitoba Métis Federation turns down Carney's invitation to talk major projects
The federation, which represents Red River Métis, says Carney's decision to include the Métis Nation of Ontario in Thursday's meeting undermines the integrity of the gathering and puts the government's plans for major projects at risk.
Federation president David Chartrand says Ottawa is also propping up the Métis National Council by including it in the meeting, despite the fact that it has only two provincial members left due to conflicts related to the Métis Nation of Ontario.
Get daily National news
Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
Carney promised meetings with First Nations, Inuit and Métis after Indigenous leaders said they were not consulted adequately on the major projects legislation and they fear projects will move forward without their input.
Story continues below advertisement
While the Manitoba Métis Federation has been generally supportive of the legislation, it now says that Ottawa's push to approve major projects is at risk if Ottawa negotiates with 'illegitimate bodies.'
First Nations and other Métis groups say the communities represented by the MNO have no claim to Métis heritage and Ottawa and Ontario have no right to recognize them.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
In the news today: Advance polls open in Alberta byelection
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed… Advance polls open in Alberta byelection Advance polls in a historic federal byelection for Alberta's Battle River-Crowfoot open today. For the first time ever, Elections Canada says voters must fill out a blank ballot. The agency lists a record 214 candidates running in the rural riding, with voting day on Aug. 18. The majority are part of the Longest Ballot Committee, a protest group calling for various changes to Canada's electoral system. Prime Minister Mark Carney called the byelection in June after Conservative Damien Kurek, who handily won the seat in the April general election, stepped down so Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre could run. Poilievre lost his long-held Ottawa seat of Carleton. Here's what else we're watching… Canada's Mboko tops Osaka to win NBO title She's a rising star, a fighter — and now, a champion. Victoria Mboko did it again on Thursday night, rallying back through the pain of a wrist injury to defeat four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the National Bank Open final, capping a fairy tale run that fans across Canada won't soon forget. The 18-year-old Canadian tennis sensation dropped to her knees after Osaka fired a shot into the net as a raucous packed house burst into cheers around IGA Stadium's centre court. Mboko ran to hug her family and coaches in the courtside box after gutting out another thrilling comeback to claim her first career WTA title — at a 1000-level event, no less. She became the third Canadian to win the hometown tournament in the Open Era, joining Bianca Andreescu (2019) and Faye Urban (1969), and the first to do so in Montreal. Air Canada, flight attendant union to resume talks Air Canada and the union representing 10,000 of its flight attendants are set to resume talks today in an attempt to avoid a strike that could potentially begin in one week. The Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees says the two sides planned to return to the bargaining table Friday after its members voted 99.7 per cent in favour of a strike mandate. The vote, which wrapped up on Tuesday, means flight attendants can potentially walk off the job as soon as Aug. 16 at 12:01 a.m. with at least 72 hours' notice provided. The airline says it is not yet considering flight cancellations or postponements as it is focused on reaching a deal before then, while cautioning that a strike mandate vote is 'a normal step in the negotiation process.' CUPE says it is also optimistic it can avoid a work stoppage, but it first wants to see how Air Canada responds to its proposals for higher wages and the elimination of unpaid labour. Carney to make military announcement in Trenton Prime Minister Mark Carney heads to Trenton, Ont., today, where he is expected to make an announcement related to the Canadian Armed Forces. On Thursday, Carney told reporters that he planned to spend the day with the Canadian Armed Forces 'building security and defence.' While in Trenton, Carney will also tour a military facility. Canada and its NATO allies agreed at their annual summit in June to substantially hike their members' defence spending target to five per cent of annual GDP by 2035. NATO members agreed on a plan to invest 3.5 per cent of their national GDP in core defence needs — like jets and other hardware — and another 1.5 per cent in related areas, such as infrastructure and cybersecurity. Statistics Canada set to publish July jobs figures Statistics Canada is set to publish new jobs data for July this morning. A Reuters poll of economists expect the economy added 13,500 jobs last month but that the unemployment rate ticked back up to seven per cent. June's jobs report showed an unexpected gain of 83,000 positions. So far, tariff-sensitive sectors such as manufacturing have largely shed jobs while employers in some other industries continue to expand their payrolls. The Bank of Canada will be watching the jobs figures carefully after the central bank held its benchmark interest rate steady at 2.75 per cent last week for a third consecutive decision. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sister of Canadian military adviser fears looming deportation, Taliban reprisal
OTTAWA – The sister of a man who worked as an interpreter for the Canadian Armed Forces during the war in Afghanistan says she fears she will be deported back to her former home, where she could face violent reprisal at the hands of the Taliban. The mother of six and her children escaped the war-torn country by fleeing to Turkey in 2018 — too early to qualify for a special temporary program that helped bring family members of military language and cultural advisers to Canada. That program only applied to family members who were still in Afghanistan on or after July 22, 2021, shortly before Kabul fell to the Taliban. While her brother told The Canadian Press most of her children have now married Canadians — which permits them to apply to come to Canada — she and her unmarried 22-year-old son believe they face deportation after receiving a notice from the Turkish government this week denying them refugee status, and after being told verbally by Turkish officials that they must leave the country. She said she believes the Taliban killed her husband in 2013 because her brother helped Canadian troops. The Canadian Press has agreed to not publish her name because of the threat she faces from the Taliban. 'My whole family has been crying,' she said in Pashto, interpreted by her brother. 'They're in immense stress. I'm still thinking, what will happen to me?' Her brother said she and her son do not know if they have the means to file an appeal of the immigration decision, which must be done within two weeks. She said that while they have been living in Turkey for years, they have faced discrimination, have been unable to find proper work and have nothing to return to in Afghanistan. Her brother, a Canadian citizen who was given the code name 'Sam' by the Canadian military, worked on the ground in Afghanistan 15 years ago helping Canadian troops navigate the country as a language and cultural adviser. 'If she were to be deported, she will clearly be executed by the same government, by the same people that we fought … that were at that time insurgents, and now they are in power,' said Sam, adding he suffers from PTSD due to his service. The Canadian government hired several dozen Afghan language and cultural advisers during the war to act as the military's eyes and ears in the field. Many have come back to Canada only to face immense struggles in getting access to social supports, such as health care. Sam said he has taken his case to senior officials in Ottawa for years and even wrote to Prime Minister Mark Carney. He said he constantly ran up against bureaucratic roadblocks and officials keen to redirect him to other offices. He said his family and those of two other Afghan language and cultural advisers were barred from coming to Canada through Ottawa's special temporary program, which shut down in 2023. He said he and the other two advisers challenged the matter in Federal Court, arguing that Canada discriminated against them. They argued that the federal government set relatively generous terms for a special program for Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion and imposed more rigid conditions on the program for the families of Afghan language and cultural advisers. That court challenge failed earlier this summer. Because the judge in the case found the application moot, it can't be appealed. 'Right now, it just has to be a political move of the government doing the right thing … taking care of the people whose families are at risk due to service to Canada,' said Nicholas Pope, a lawyer for the three former military advisers. 'It's really devastating,' Pope said of the sister's situation. 'This is just a massive failure of the system.' 'Sam' has been pressing Ottawa to help his family since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021. He enlisted the help of his local MP, Conservative Scott Reid, who raised the issue in Parliament. He said that after the court challenge ended, he sought help from a local church to no avail. He said he does not know where else to turn for help. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada did not respond by deadline when asked about the case. 'Sam' said he now 'wholeheartedly' regrets working with the Canadian military. 'They just lied to us. They put us in a situation where they used us and now here's the rewards of it,' he said. 'My only question (to the government) would be … was it worth it for me to go and save so many lives, and then at the same time sacrifice my own family?' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Advance polls open in Alberta byelection with 214 candidates, historic blank ballots
CAMROSE – Advance polls in a historic federal byelection for Alberta's Battle River-Crowfoot open today. For the first time ever, Elections Canada says voters must fill out a blank ballot. The agency lists a record 214 candidates running in the rural riding, with voting day on Aug. 18. The majority are part of the Longest Ballot Committee, a protest group calling for various changes to Canada's electoral system. Prime Minister Mark Carney called the byelection in June after Conservative Damien Kurek, who handily won the seat in the April general election, stepped down so Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre could run. Poilievre lost his long-held Ottawa seat of Carleton. The byelection also features Liberal candidate Darcy Spady, the NDP's Katherine Swampy and Independent Bonnie Critchley. Elections Canada says there have been some exceptions to its regular ballot. Adapted ballots with two columns have been used in elections with a higher-than-usual number of candidates. In this byelection, it's not just marking an x. Voters must handwrite the name of their preferred candidate in a blank space. 'Their vote will be counted, even if they misspell the candidate's name,' said agency spokesperson Matthew McKenna. 'They can also include the name of the political party. However, if they write only the name of a political party, their ballot cannot be counted. The candidate's name has to be there.' A list of all candidates in large-print will be at polling stations for electors to refer to, he added. The agency's website also said magnifiers and large-grip pencils will be available. Poll workers have been given extra training. McKenna said there are ways they can assist electors with ballots, and the counting process will be different. Poilievre repeated his frustration Thursday with the longest ballot initiative. More than 90 candidates were on the ballot when he ran in Carleton. 'I don't have a problem with anyone who wants to run for office, even if they're not known or not wealthy,' he said at an unrelated news conference in Calgary. 'But that's not what these people are doing … they just want to inundate the ballot to confuse the situation, make it harder for people to vote. People with vision problems, the elderly, others who have difficulty now will have a harder time voting.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2025.
