Latest news with #HaidaNation
National Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- National Post
Caroline Elliott: B.C. Supreme Court takes an axe to private property rights
Article content While two previous decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada recognized Aboriginal title in British Columbia (Tsilhqot'in in 2014 and Nuchatlaht in 2024), neither declared it over privately held lands as this one does. Article content Even as the B.C. government has promised to appeal the decision, it has been pursuing similar policies outside the courts. The province controversially overlaid Aboriginal title on private land with its problematic Haida Nation Recognition Act in 2024. The act was specifically referenced by the plaintiffs in the Cowichan case, and the judge agreed that it illustrated how Aboriginal title and fee simple can 'coexist.' Article content This is a questionable assertion given the numerous legal concerns. As one analysis explains, private property interests and the implementation of Aboriginal title are ultimately at odds: 'The rights in land which flow from both a fee simple interest and Aboriginal title interest … include exclusive rights to use, occupy and manage lands. The two interests are fundamentally irreconcilable over the same piece of land. Article content Article content While the government claims it adequately protected private property rights in the Haida agreement, Aboriginal title is protected under the Constitution, while private property rights are not. When these competing interests are inevitably brought before the courts, it's easy to imagine which one will prevail. Article content The fact that B.C. Premier David Eby said last year that he intended to use the Haida agreement as a ' template ' for other areas of B.C. stands in marked contrast with his sudden interest in an appeal as a means of preserving clear private property titles in the wake of this politically toxic ruling. Article content Indeed, Eby's government continues to negotiate similar agreements elsewhere, including with the shíshálh Nation on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast, even as government documents admit that Aboriginal title includes the right to 'exclusively use and occupy the land.' Article content Eby's commitment to an appeal suggests he may have learned from his costly refusal to appeal a 2021 B.C. Supreme Court decision, which found that excessive development had breached the treaty rights of the Blueberry River First Nation. Eby's government chose to pay out a $350-million settlement to avoid further litigation, a move that ultimately backfired when the two parties ended up back in court. Article content But for now, the consequences of the Cowichan decision have created considerable uncertainty for property owners, businesses and general market confidence. The judge's own words sum it up: 'The question of what remains of Aboriginal title after the granting of fee simple title to the same lands should be reversed. The proper question is: what remains of fee simple title after Aboriginal title is recognized in the same lands?' Article content If there's one positive aspect to this decision, it's that it is so extreme, it will force the Eby government's radical Indigenous policies onto the public agenda as awareness builds over what's at stake. Article content From its incessant land acknowledgements, to MLAs referring to non-Indigenous British Columbians as ' uninvited guests,' to its embrace of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and its land back policies, to undemocratic land use planning processes and the overlaying of Aboriginal title on private lands, B.C. government policy has long been headed in exactly this direction. Article content Now, a reckoning is coming, and it's of the government's own creation. The broader issue will soon overtake all others in the public eye, and the premier must decide now whether he'll start walking things back, or double down on his disastrous course. Article content
National Observer
7 days ago
- Politics
- National Observer
Parks Canada will share stewardship with Indigenous nations
In a move that could revolutionize how national parks are managed, Parks Canada is partnering with Indigenous people to share authority over decisions in dozens of locations. Under its 2025‑26 Departmental Plan, the agency aims to have at least 27 natural heritage places and 15 cultural heritage sites managed in partnership with First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities by March 2026. The department says it is well on its way to meeting its goal, building on the 23 national parks and nine historic sites where Indigenous peoples were already part of formal co‑management at the end of the last fiscal year. '[It's] built upon decades of working with Indigenous partners … thinking about values like trust and respect and reciprocity … how we can better build relationships, have better trust and do a better job at respecting Indigenous ways of knowing and being in all that Parks Canada does,' said Nathan Cardinal, who is Métis and director of Indigenous policy at Parks Canada. Cardinal said the change builds on decades of co‑management agreements, such as long‑running consensus‑based governance with the Haida Nation in BC's Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and National Marine Conservation Area. But until recently, those arrangements were inconsistent and limited in scope. This ambitious target is supported by a series of policy and relationship shifts, foremost among them the Indigenous Stewardship Policy enacted in October 2024 in collaboration with the Indigenous Stewardship Circle, a group composed of Indigenous leaders. The policy sets a framework for respectful collaboration grounded in Indigenous knowledge, laws, governance and stewardship practices. "These lands are not just habitats for species-at-risk, they are home to our stories, our medicines and our ancestors,' said Nikki van Oirschot, chief of Caldwell First Nation. In northern Labrador, the Nunatsiavut Government, Makivvik and Parks Canada are working together on a new Inuit Protected Area and national marine conservation area next to Torngat Mountains National Park. The project could protect up to 17,000 square kilometres of coastal and marine waters. The goal, said Nunatsiavut Deputy Minister Jim Goudie, is nothing less than equal decision‑making power. Goudie said their work with Parks Canada on a proposed marine protected area is aimed at 'true co‑governance, where our president has the same decision‑making authority as the federal minister.' Nikki van Oirschot, chief of Caldwell First Nation, said that for Ojibway National Urban Park to be truly co‑governed, it must include firm commitments for long‑term ecological monitoring, guaranteed funding for the Nation's Land Guardian program and decision‑making rules that cannot be bypassed or overturned by a federal minister. Without those safeguards, 'co‑governance commitments could remain aspirational rather than actionable,' she warned. The urban park is envisioned as a place of learning, where young people gain land‑based skills and conservation knowledge from elders and visitors see that Indigenous presence is alive and ongoing, Oirschot said. While Parks Canada works to meet the national target of conserving 30 per cent of land and waters by 2030, the focus is on how those targets are met. 'It's really important that we continue to push towards 2030 but it's also really important that we do this work in a way that upholds our values when it comes to reconciliation and decolonization of the Protected Area establishment,' Cardinal said. Oirschot said success will be measured by the lasting relationships it builds — between people and the land, and between nations and the Crown. 'The ONUP landscape includes some of the last remaining tallgrass prairie and black oak savannah in Canada — ecosystems that are ecologically rare and culturally significant. These lands are not just habitats for species-at-risk, they are home to our stories, our medicines and our ancestors,' Oirschot said. Goudie called the current relationship 'excellent' compared to the past and said Parks Canada staff is 'actively trying to make sure reconciliation is not a buzzword, but actually being put into practice.' The agency's approach is a marked improvement from past decades, when the federal government often unilaterally chose park locations, displacing Indigenous people and cutting them off from their lands. 'There simply cannot be a new park or protected area in Canada that is not co‑managed by Indigenous peoples. I don't think there ever will be again,' said Chris Rider, national conservation director with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. Still, there are hurdles. Rider pointed to lengthy delays in securing federal funding once agreements are made. In one case, he said, it took two years from the public commitment to a new park before the money was announced. 'That's two years a community is waiting for certainty, and it undermines confidence,' he said. Much of the recent progress has been supported by the federal Enhanced Nature Legacy Fund, which is set to expire in April 2026. Without renewed financing, Rider warned, 'it's going to be incredibly difficult for Parks Canada to continue to deliver.' Parks Canada has also used federal funding to expand Indigenous Guardian programs — local stewardship jobs that put 'moccasins and mukluks on the ground' — but Cardinal said they are continuing to work to make funding more accessible and better aligned with the scope of the work. 'We're still in that negotiation. Things just started … so maybe two years down the road, I won't be so happy, but at this point, I have to be cautiously optimistic that we'll see the dollars that hopefully we negotiate,' Goudie said.
Canada Standard
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Canada Standard
Stream Canadian with the NFB this June: Celebrate National Indigenous History Month.Special programming also highlights Pride Month.
June 2, 2025 - Montreal - National Film Board of Canada (NFB) In June, keep streaming Canadian on the NFB's platforms! We're celebrating National Indigenous History Month with three new releases showcasing the strength and resilience of Indigenous people: Ossie Michelin's Feather Fall , about an iconic moment of Indigenous resistance filmed in Mi'kmaq territory; , about an iconic moment of Indigenous resistance filmed in Mi'kmaq territory; Alanis Obomsawin's My Friend the Green Horse , where an animal from the filmmaker's dreams embodies the spirit of kindness and a celebration of life; , where an animal from the filmmaker's dreams embodies the spirit of kindness and a celebration of life; and Christopher Auchter's The Stand , which recreates the moment when the Haida Nation took a stand for the future. June is also Pride Month in Canada: Special themed channels and blog posts will mark these important historic and cultural commemorations. In addition, more new releases will be available online: Serville Poblete's King's Court , an intimate look into the lives of two young men in Toronto's Bleecker Street neighbourhood; , an intimate look into the lives of two young men in Toronto's Bleecker Street neighbourhood; and the seven short films produced by the NFB in tribute to the 2025 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) laureates. Remember, is home to more than 7,000 streaming films and a collection of over 100 interactive works. MARKING NATIONAL INDIGENOUS HISTORY MONTH Starting June 2 Feather Fall by Ossie Michelin (2024, NFB) Documentary (22 min 57 s) / Press kit The film revisits Mi'kmaq territory, where an iconic moment was captured in 2013-igniting into a symbol of Indigenous resistance and halting fracking exploration on unceded lands. Starting June 9 My Friend the Green Horse by Alanis Obomsawin (2024, NFB) Animation (11 min 20 s) / Press kit Often feeling alone in her waking life, the young Alanis Obomsawin found friendship with the Green Horse, a benevolent being she visited regularly in her dreams. Together with other animal spirits, the Green Horse guided Alanis to realize the immensity of the gift of life and the power of kindness. Starting June 19 The Stand by Christopher Auchter (2024, NFB) Documentary (94 min 33 s) / Press kit Drawn from more than a hundred hours of archival footage and audio, Christopher Auchter's riveting new feature doc recreates the moment when the Haida Nation took a stand for the future. This award-winning film has been an official selection at several festivals in Canada, the United States and the UK. To date, the NFB has produced or co-produced more than 460 works by First Nations, Inuit and Metis filmmakers , one of the largest online collections of Indigenous-made films , exploring stories beyond those of the historically dominant culture. English Collection Curator Camilo Martin-Florez has written a two-part blog post entitled "The Forgotten Reels of Nunavut's Animation Workshop." It explores one of the most captivating and intricate chapters of Indigenous filmmaking at the NFB: the 58 films made by 13 Inuit filmmakers at a 1972 workshop in Kinngait (then known as Cape Dorset), Nunavut. The films have been retrieved, restored, digitized and made available for free on to celebrate this National Indigenous Heritage Month. Learn more: Part 1 and Part 2. NEW ONLINE RELEASE Starting June 17 King's Court by Serville Poblete (2025, NFB) Documentary (19 min 59 s) / Press kit An intimate look into the lives of two young men navigating life, love, friendship and family in Toronto's Bleecker Street neighbourhood. The film had its world premiere at the Hot Docs film fest. MARKING PRIDE MONTH Starting June 27 Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance by Noam Gonick (2025, NFB) Documentary (96 min) / Press kit The film captures pivotal moments of the activism that sparked Canada's 2SLGBTQI+ movement. The film launched in April at Hot Docs, where it was voted a top ten audience favourite. The original English version of the documentary will be launched on TVO's digital channels at 9 a.m. (EDT) on June 22, and broadcast on TVO at 9 p.m. (EDT). Themed channel This selection of close to 50 short and feature-length doc and animated films continues to grow, with recent additions like A Mother Apart by Laurie Townshend, as well as important films dating back to the 1990s, including Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives by Aerlyn Weissman and Lynne Fernie. CELEBRATING THE 2025 GOVERNOR GENERAL'S PERFORMING ARTS AWARDS (GGPAA) LAUREATES Starting June 14 at 9 p.m. (ET) For the 17th year, the NFB is bringing together acclaimed filmmakers to create seven short cinematic tributes to Canadian performing arts legends, as the GGPAA gets set to honour laureates at their Awards Gala, taking place June 14 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. The short films will also be available on the NFB's streaming platforms, CBC Gem and ICI starting on that date at 9 p.m. Tara Johns directed five shorts and Monique LeBlanc, two. Find more details here. A detailed press release will be issued on June 14. The GGPAA short films from previous years are available here. - 30 - Stay Connected Online Screening Room: NFB Facebook | NFB Twitter | NFB Instagram | NFB Blog | NFB YouTube | NFB Vimeo Curator's perspective | Director's notes About the NFB
CBC
10-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Some voters say B.C. oil tanker ban must be lifted for national unity. Others warn it will reopen an old fight
If a ban on oil tankers off British Columbia's North Coast is lifted, Arnie Nagy is ready to fight. A member of the Haida Nation living in Prince Rupert, more than 700 kilometres up the coast from Vancouver, he spent his career working in fish canneries that once employed thousands, and still takes to the ocean for salmon. He didn't hesitate when asked what is at stake for him in the upcoming federal election. "Our way of life," he replied. "My family's way of life since time immemorial: The protection of the marine environment, the protection of our rights to go food fishing, the protection of the salmon resources and the marine resources that we used to build the economics in coastal communities." Nagy, now 61, said he's been fighting proposals to put oil tankers in B.C.'s oceans since the 1970s. Today, the issue has been brought back to the agenda by the federal Conservatives, who are running on a promise to repeal Bill C-48, the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act. And the question of which message resonates more — getting oil to market or protecting coastal waters — could help decide the outcome of a federal election, in which this riding of Skeena-Bulkley Valley is shaping up to be a key battleground if the Conservatives want to form government. Passed in 2019 under then-prime minister Justin Trudeau, the moratorium act prevents tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tonnes of oil from travelling along B.C.'s coastline between the north tip of Vancouver Island and Alaska, and was celebrated by Nagy when it became law. But Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre argues the legislation is choking Canada's resource industry and has promised to lift it should he become prime minister. He's attacked Mark Carney for saying a new Liberal government would keep the ban in place. Poilievre has also framed the issue as a matter of national security in the face of tariffs and economic threats from the United States, arguing there is a renewed importance on opening up overseas markets for oil produced in B.C. and Alberta. WATCH | Nagy says he'd fight tanker ban reversal: Haida fisherman ready to fight any repeal of tanker ban 1 day ago Duration 2:09 Arnie Nagy says he's been fighting oil transport proposals through B.C.'s coastal waters since the 1970s, and at 61 years of age, he's ready to do it again should a new federal government seek to repeal the ban put in place in 2019. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, meanwhile, has put out a list of demands for whoever becomes prime minister. It includes lifting the tanker ban alongside several other measures aimed at getting Albertan oil to market in order to "avoid an unprecedented national unity crisis." "Albertans will no longer tolerate the way we've been treated by the federal Liberals over the past 10 years," she wrote on X. Nagy, however, believes that's simply a smokescreen, dressing resource projects up in a message of patriotism when in reality they would reopen old conflicts. "We've got to be united as Canadians, not divided on silly proposals that don't really benefit the Canadian people," he said, arguing the money from projects goes to companies rather than communities, while putting marine environments at risk. Divisive Northern Gateway pipeline still looms large Down a gravel road through farmers' fields north of Red Deer, Alberta, are the historic Leduc Oil Fields. Leduc kicked off Alberta's post-war oil boom in 1947 and today crews are still working to power the local economy — and, as they see it, that of the country as a whole. WATCH | Trump's threats puts controversial pipeline back on the agenda: Trump tariff threats put scrapped Northern Gateway pipeline project back in the political spotlight 3 months ago Duration 2:13 With U.S. President Donald Trump threatening tariffs on Canadian products as early as Feb. 1, some Canadian business leaders and politicians are opening up discussions on the Northern Gateway pipeline project to secure alternative markets for Canadian oil. As CBC's Katie DeRosa reports, even some First Nations leaders who once opposed the pipeline are now open to it. But, they say, they often feel ignored or worse, maligned by other parts of the country — a feeling Bryan Gould, CEO of Aspenleaf Energy, believes is about to boil over depending on the outcome of this year's election. "I see a sort of crossroads, frankly, where we either leverage the great strengths and the bounty that we have as a country, or we put barriers in place, don't realize our potential, and that can have, you know, really dramatic unity impacts in a negative sense," he said in an interview with CBC Radio's The Current. Chris Simeniuk, a former oil worker, expressed enthusiasm for Poilievre's plans to streamline the regulatory approval process for new energy projects. "Let's get something happening," he said. WATCH | Oil and gas workers on their election priorities: 3 Alberta voters want economic prosperity — and a voice 3 days ago Duration 0:46 He also lamented the death of Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline, a project whose name is often brought up in discussions around efforts to get Canadian oil overseas. That development would have seen about 525,000 barrels of petroleum a day shipped from just northeast of Edmonton through more than 1,700 kilometres of pipeline to Kitimat, B.C., just east of Prince Rupert, for export overseas. The pipeline was approved by Stephen Harper's Conservatives, and protested by hundreds of people in both Kitimat and further afield. Its approval was reversed when the Federal Court found Ottawa had not adequately consulted Indigenous people along the project's route, and effectively killed once Trudeau came to power and announced the tanker moratorium in 2016. But the Conservatives already have a strong foothold in Alberta, where the tanker ban is maligned. Where they are attempting to win new voters is on B.C.'s North Coast, in the vast Skeena-Bulkley Valley riding which has returned NDP candidates since its creation in 2004 and where opposition to Northern Gateway and oil shipments remains strong. In January, when Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs president Grand Chief Stewart Phillip said he was prepared to rethink his opposition to the pipeline in the face of tariff threats, he was quickly faced with backlash and retracted his comments the next day. Indigenous leaders, including the elected Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations and Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs, reiterated their opposition to the project, warning they would do everything they could to stop if from moving forward. 'Not a risk people are willing to take': NDP Also opposed to reopening the debate is Taylor Bachrach, who as mayor of Smithers joined in a council vote opposing the project. Today, he is running for re-election as the NDP MP in Skeena-Bulkley Valley, a riding so large and remote that he visits some of his constituents by canoe. "For 10 years, people in this part of the world — communities, First Nations, ranchers, fishermen — stood together and said, 'We don't want crude oil coming through our watersheds or going up and down our coast.' It was one of the greatest acts of unity, I think that I've ever seen," he said. The impact of the ban being repealed, he said, would be "really devastating" for the region, with the potential it would last long after a Trump presidency is over. "The implications of an oil spill in a wild salmon river or on the North Coast would last for over a century," he said. "It's not a risk people are willing to take." Also prominent in his opposition to the pipeline, at the time, was Ellis Ross. As the chief councillor of the Haisla First Nation, he went so far as to join a lawsuit against Enbridge for failing to consult with Indigenous communities on the project. In a 2012 interview with CBC, he echoed many of the same points made by Nagy, saying a single oil spill would devastate the marine life that his people have long relied on. At the same time he was fighting Enbridge, Ross supported the development of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry, saying that while it, too, had risks, they were not nearly as great as those posed by oil tankers, adding the economic benefits to First Nations and local communities could not be ignored. He rode that message in the 2017 provincial election campaign, where he ran under the banner of the centre-right B.C. Liberals, flipping the riding away from the provincial NDP. And now, he's hoping to do it again, this time as the hand-picked candidate for the federal Conservatives. He joined Poilievre at a campaign stop in Terrace this week, where the party leader vowed to unleash the natural resource industry by creating a "one stop shop" to speed up approvals for natural resource projects, specifically citing the Canada LNG plant currently coming online in Kitimat that Ross had championed. WATCH | Poilievre campaigns in Terrace, B.C.: Conservatives promise 'one-and-done' project approvals to cut wait times 2 days ago Duration 2:10 Pierre Poilievre campaigned in Terrace on Monday alongside Skeena-Bulkley Valley candidate Ellis Ross. The former MLA helped bring LNG Canada to the region. But as Jon Hernandez explains, not everyone is on board with the party's pledge to support more megaprojects. But shipping LNG isn't nearly as divisive as oil tankers, and the industry has received the backing of both the federal Liberal and provincial NDP governments. Meanwhile, Poilievre's speech in Terrace made no mention of his promise to allow tankers into the nearby Douglas Channel, in contrast to an appearance a week earlier in Newfoundland, where he checked "repeal the tanker ban" off of a giant to-do list and criticized Carney for opposing Northern Gateway. Neither Poilievre nor Ross took questions from the media on the tanker ban while speaking in Terrace, and Ross' team has also declined multiple interview requests put forward by CBC News to clarify his position on the topic. Ross did, however, tell a special senate committee meeting in 2019 that he feared opposition to resource development, including the tanker ban, is based more on ideology than fact. He has also been vocal on social media saying there needs to be more pipelines in order to diversify the economy. That message isn't particularly at odds with that coming from Carney, who has said he wants to work with Canada's energy industries and First Nations to move more resource projects forward. But Nagy said no matter who wins the election, coastal First Nations are clear: no tankers in B.C.'s waters. "We've been through this battle … and we've come to the conclusion that it is not a safe proposal," he said. "It may be another fight."
CBC
08-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Trudeau's final weeks strike balance between cementing his legacy and managing a crisis
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau works through what is likely to be his last week in office, he and his government appear to be moving to cement his political legacy. Trudeau and his ministers have been making significant announcements on infrastructure, social programs and reconciliation. Trudeau has also made recent international trips to the United Kingdom and Ukraine to discuss and demonstrate Canada's ongoing support for Ukraine and future role in global security. All this has come against a backdrop of leading the country through an economic, security and existential crisis instigated by the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump. Randy Besco, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, says that making announcements on your way out the door is common for outgoing prime ministers, as is tying up loose ends. "One way to look at it is: they are trying to cement a legacy. Another way to look at it is: they might lose so they are trying to get a lot of stuff done. And that's also a pretty standard thing," he told CBC News. Here are some of the major steps the Trudeau government has taken in recent weeks to shore up signature policy moves made over the last decade. Indigenous reconciliation Trudeau has repeatedly said that there's no relationship "more important to Canada than the relationship with Indigenous Peoples." Over the last decade he's made significant, although not perfect, progress toward his promise to renew that relationship, and further reconciliation. Those efforts saw Trudeau deliver apologies for the federal government's past child welfare and residential schools policies, as well as lift 147 long-term drinking advisories in Indigenous communities. In his final weeks in office, Trudeau and the Haida Nation reminded the country of that mission by signing an agreement recognizing Aboriginal title over the archipelago of Haida Gwaii off British Columbia's northern coast. A week later, Trudeau announced that he'd struck a $270-million agreement to support jobs and conservation projects in the Qikiqtani region of Nunavut. "When we invest to protect [and] safeguard biodiversity, we protect those who protect us, our environment and our livelihoods," Trudeau told reporters. On Thursday, the government announced a settlement agreement for survivors of federally run Indian hospitals where claimants are eligible for up to $200,000. Ukraine While the issue of how to continue support for Ukraine will fall into the lap of Canada's next prime minister, Trudeau reminded the world in recent weeks that he is still front and centre to voice Canada's support for the country. Since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the federal government says it has provided almost $20 billion in military and humanitarian support to the European nation. Canada has also provided strong political and diplomatic support, sanctioning more than 3,000 people and entities, and another 109 naval vessels that it says are in some way participating in the invasion of Ukraine. Trudeau has reinforced this financial and political support by visiting the country four times since the invasion began, including his latest trip on the three-year anniversary of the invasion. Trudeau attended a summit in Kyiv last month, in which he publicly praised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's "remarkable personal bravery, resilience and resolve." Earlier this month, Trudeau went to the United Kingdom where he and other European leaders met in London to discuss their ongoing support for the country. Child care In 2021, the federal government announced a $30-billion, five-year child-care plan to create 250,000 new affordable spaces across the country. About 150,000 spaces have been created or funded so far. In the 2021 budget, the government said that of the $30 billion promised, $27.2 billion will be used to "bring the federal government to a 50/50 share of child-care costs with provincial and territorial governments." In time, all of the provinces and territories signed on to the deal, which was funded until 2026. This week, Trudeau announced another five-year agreement to extend the program until March 2031. Trudeau said the $37-billion deal with 11 provinces and territories (Alberta and Saskatchewan have yet to sign on) will help the provinces create another 100,000 spaces by this time next year. The base funding is also being increased by three per cent, per year, for four years starting in 2027-28 in order to make sure the program can keep pace with rising costs. Trudeau said the deals "will allow this to lock in, to become something that no government, a year from now, five years from now, 20 years from now, could ever go back on." Pharmacare A year ago, Health Minister Mark Holland released the details of the Liberal government's pharmacare plan that he said would start out by covering the costs of some diabetes treatments. Delivering the program was a condition of the Liberal and NDP supply-and-confidence agreement. The Liberal government said the plan also gives the nine million Canadians of reproductive age better access to contraception to ensure "reproductive autonomy, reducing the risk of unintended pregnancies and improving their ability to plan for the future." The Pharmacare Act passed through Parliament and received royal assent in October. Although it started providing only limited coverage, the plan is to eventually expand it into a comprehensive national pharmacare program. While the enabling legislation is in force, the program needs provinces to sign on. Late last month, Holland announced that Manitoba was the first province to make a deal. The federal government will provide the province with $219 million in funding over four years. On Thursday, B.C. became the second province to sign on, inking a deal with the Liberal government worth $670 million over four years. That was swiftly followed by Prince Edward Island, which signed a $30-million deal on Friday. School food program Canada is the only G7 country that does not have a national school food program, according to the Breakfast Club of Canada. Last April, the Liberal government announced it would spend $1 billion over five years to launch such a program that it said would deliver 400,000 meals for children annually. Last year, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Ontario and Prince Edward Island signed deals with the federal government to participate in the program. New Brunswick, Nunavut and Nova Scotia signed their deals last month, and just this week Quebec, B.C. and the Northwest Territories signed on as well. High-speed rail Trudeau launched a six-year, $3.9-billion design and development plan last month that he said would eventually connect Quebec City and Toronto via a high-speed rail line. Trudeau said the new rail network will run all-electric trains along 1,000 kilometres of track, reaching speeds of up to 300 km/hour, with stops in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Laval, Trois-Rivières and Quebec City. Transport Canada initially estimated that the cost of such a project could be as high as $80 billion. Multiple provincial and federal governments have mused about building high-speed rail, but Canada is still the only G7 country without some form of high speed rail either in operation or under development. Asked why he was launching a multi-year infrastructure project on the eve of his departure from office, Trudeau said a project that large would always have to "cover multiple governments … from municipal to provincial to federal." "Obviously, future governments will make their determinations about how they invest. But this investment in Canadians, which starts right now, is going to be very difficult to turn back on," Trudeau said.
