Latest news with #ElsipogtogFirstNation
CTV News
26-05-2025
- CTV News
37-year-old man arrested following aggravated assault in Elsipogtog: N.B. RCMP
A 37-year-old man has been arrested in connection with an aggravated assault in the community of Elsipogtog First Nation, N.B. RCMP received reports of an altercation between two men at a residence on Oak Street on May 18 around 1:44 a.m. When police arrived at the scene, they found one man had been seriously injured during the altercation. He was transferred to hospital with life-threatening injuries. According to police, the other man fled the scene before officers arrived. As a result of an investigation, police say they were able to identify the second man involved in the incident. The Southeast District Community Crime Reduction Unit, Forensic Identification Services and Elsipogtog RCMP, executed a search warrant at a residence on May 21. 'Police seized two baseball bats during the search. A 37-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman, both from Elsipogtog First Nation were arrested at the scene. A 24-year-old man was also arrested later the same day in connection with the investigation,' reads a news release from the New Brunswick RCMP. The 29-year-old woman and 24-year-old man were released on conditions. The 37-year-old man was remanded into custody. Terrance Levi, 37, appeared in a Moncton provincial court on Thursday by way of tele-remand and was charged with aggravated assault. Levi returned to Moncton provincial court on Friday for his bail hearing and was released on conditions, pending a future court appearance. The investigation is ongoing. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
Hamilton Spectator
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Eskasoni woman goes from Mi'kmaq warrior to Mi'kmaq lawyer
She's still fierce. It's more than ten years later, and Suzanne Patles' demeanour is a little more mellow, but when she looks at you with those grey-green eyes you know you wouldn't want her facing you in the courtroom. This is a woman who has gone from Mi'kmaq Warrior and on the RCMP 'threat list' in 2014 to graduating from Dalhousie School of Law later this month. And not only graduate but with the honour of being the 2025 recipient of the coveted Donald Marshall Jr. Memorial Award from the Schulich School of Law. 'I'm interested in seeing what kind of impact I can make within the legal system,' says Patles speaking from her home community of Eskasoni. 'I knew I had what it takes to be a lawyer, because I represented myself.' She's talking about the three charges she faced in 2013 when she took part in the Elsipogtog First Nation stand-off in New Brunswick defending the land against fracking. She was first charged with mischief for laying tobacco and praying in the middle of a highway; then a couple of weeks later for obstruction and breaching conditions when accused of being involved in a blockade when some other women chained themselves to machinery; and finally, she was arrested on Oct. 17, 2013, the infamous day when RCMP raided an encampment where she was staying that was blocking shale gas exploration vehicles. FRACKING PROTEST The protest was against an American company which had come into New Brunswick wanting to extract oil by hydraulic fracturing on land near Rexton. Known as 'fracking,' it is a process used to extract natural gas and oil from shale rock that involves injecting a high-pressure mix of water, sand, and chemicals into deep wells, creating fractures in the shale to release the trapped gas and oil. The process includes the potential for groundwater contamination, soil degradation, and changes in local ecosystems. Representing herself in court. Her charges were dropped. 'In order to do the same for others, I knew I had to be licensed,' she said. So, she became a student at one of Canada's prestigious law schools. But first, before she entered Dalhousie Law School in Halifax, she took part in a couple of other high-profile advocacy events, including work to have the statue of Mi'kmaq bounty hunter Edward Cornwallis removed from a downtown Halifax park. 'He's now in a pine box in storage,' she says. 'Never to see the light of day again.' LAW GRADUATION On May 30, after entering law school in 2018, she will graduate and be handed a degree specializing in Aboriginal, Indigenous and Criminal Law. Additionally, Patles will receive the Donald J. Marshall Jr. Memorial Award given to a graduating student who 'has a proven commitment to raising awareness and working for social justice and criminal law reform with respect to Aboriginal peoples.' 'Those were interesting times,' Patles says, speaking of the Elsipogtog year. 'That was the last armed stand-off in Canadian history.' The importance of having experienced first-hand the drama of that day and walking away from it is not lost on Patles. When asked if she had guns aimed at her, her answer was: 'Several hundred guns.' While the RCMP say no shots were fired from them that day, they do acknowledge that pepper spray was used on protesters, who were trying to push through the police line. Spokespeople at the time said no rubber bullets were used, but that RCMP members used 'sock rounds' — also known as bean bag rounds, which are a type of non-lethal ammunition — on two occasions trying to defuse the situation. DANGEROUS SCENE On the protester's side, police say at least one shot was fired by someone other than police, and that Molotov cocktails were thrown at them. At least five RCMP vehicles were destroyed by fire and police also investigated suspected explosive devices at the scene. Photos show a scary and dangerous fiery scene of burning cars and fully armed and protected police lines. No one was seriously injured. Patles remembers that day and understands that it goes into forming her as a lawyer and advocate for her community. She has an understanding of how far people are willing to go for their people and to protect their environment. 'That day was the culmination of a bunch of lived trauma. Indigenous people carry that burden.' The end result of that protest was that the American shoal company wanting to drill the land eventually removed its request that December. Law school has added to Patles' toolbox over the last ten years about how to advocate for the Mi'kmaq and Indigenous people across the country. She can now add her educated legal strategies to any Canadian's right of civil disobedience. 'School taught me a lot more than I knew going in,' she says. 'I now analyze things strategically so it benefits me in my own growth. To be in this space and to have my own lens (and experience) is an advantage.' She says she knows what it means to be a fierce woman. Her gentle way of speaking is a strength along with her never-give-up attitude. 'I have a unique experience because of Elsipogtog. I was the only one at school who went through anything like it.' The next step in Patles' journey is to find a firm where she can article for a year, and then she will take her bar exam. Her goal at this time is to work among the Mi'kmaq, but she doesn't rule out other places in Canada in the future. 'I just want to help wherever I'm needed,' she says. ABOUT Susanne Patles
