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Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Two Row on the Grand celebrates ten years with Paddlestock
Over 100 participants involved in this year's Two Row on the Grand pulled into Chiefswood Park for the Paddlestock event on Sunday, July 20, 2025. The event was held in celebration of the tenth anniversary of Two Row on the Grand, a ten day canoe and kayaking journey down the Grand River, traveling from Cambridge to Port Maitland in Haldimand County. Organizers Ellie Joseph and Jay Bailey, were simply 'paddle acquaintances' and friends, but when Joseph asked Bailey if he would like to take part in the 2013 Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign on the Hudson River, they quickly became a 'paddle family.' The 2013 event was held as a way to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Two Row Wampum Treaty, which was first established between the Haudenosaunee and the Dutch around 1613. During the two-week long journey, around 200 paddlers made up of the Haudenosaunee and their allies, travelled side-by-side in two rows down the Hudson from Albany, New York to New York City. Inspired by their experience, the two decided to host a similar one-time six-day long journey along the Grand River and invited both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to participate. What they didn't expect then, was that they would still be hosting the event ten years later. 'We thought we were only going to do it once, but it was actually because of a sharing circle at the end of that first Two Row on the Grand that we heard what an impact it had on people,' said Bailey. 'Being retired teachers, we both had the thought of, 'well, how can we not do this again?' and so here we are in our tenth year. It's been quite the ride and it's really had quite the ripple effect because in 2022 we won a tourism award for partnerships, we've been invited to speak at elementary schools, high schools and universities, and it's just kept growing and evolving.' Having arrived at their halfway mark on day five, organizers arranged a Paddlestock event with several performances from James N. Wilson, Gail Obediah, Lacey Hill, Dylan Roberts, Hahsdotrewi Bomberry, and the band SHEBAD, to celebrate the anniversary. Between performances, several paddlers got to share words about their various experiences, and safety paddler, Seth Cabezas, shared a poem about his relationship with his Métis heritage. Including ground crew and safety paddlers, around 167 people are currently involved in this year's trip. While many are doing the full ten days down the Grand, some chose to do just the first five days with 105 paddlers, or the last five days with 109 paddlers. Heather Marshall of Toronto, was just one of the solo participants ending her journey at the halfway mark. Taking part in the event for the first time, Marshall said it was hard to put into words how transformative the trip was for her. I've learned so much along the way, be it from the official programming or the informal chatter and the conversations you have on the water, while eating food, washing up dishes or even sitting around a fire laughing and sharing stories,' she said. 'You really get to learn so much from each other, both from the Indigenous community members, as well as the allies and I really enjoyed getting to hear about what they're doing to support truth and reconciliation, and to uphold the treaties in their own communities.' When asked if she had a particular favourite moment, Marshall explained that there were too many to count. 'The Woodland Cultural Centre was a really significant stop along the way for sure, but also, on the first and second days, we had two eagles circling us. You don't get to see eagles too often and so to see two was just really cool and very powerful for me,' she said. 'I think another significant moment included an explanation of the Thanksgiving Address by Ron Thomas; it was really amazing that he took the time to explain to us how he was taught to do it and just being grateful for what you have.' Marshall also added that getting to spend the whole fifth day on the river in the Two Row formation was another special moment for her. 'The first couple days we were navigating a lot of rapids so it isn't always easy to stay in formation, and so finally being able to do that for a long stretch of time was just amazing,' she said. Greg Hill, who traveled from Chelsea, Quebec, to participate in the journey for the first time, also said that he was having a great experience. 'It's interesting because there's a bit of trepidation that you have when you first start, there's kind of that question of, 'can I do this?' but then you make it through your first day and you feel good about that. It's also been really nice meeting people and seeing how a community builds solely among people, especially with the really intentional way that everybody's coming to do this with a good mind and to learn the teachings of the Two Row Wampum Belt, and apply them and see the results of that. It's really wonderful to experience.' He added that even with over 100 people involved in the journey, he felt particularly grateful for the moments of connection with the river. 'We're a huge group and because there's so many people, it's been really nice just to have those few moments alone with the river. I'm originally from Fort Erie, but my dad is from Six Nations and so having been removed from the reserve territory, it's been harder to make those connections and I find that I've really had put in the effort to do so,' said Hill. 'So for me personally, getting to know the river in this way has been really grounding and very important for me. With that being said, it's also been wonderful to see so many people on the river and travelling in the Two Row paddle formation so that's been very beautiful as well.' As far as what he was hoping to take away from his ten-day trip, Hill said he wanted to just be present with his journey. 'My attitude is really to just be here and take in as much as I can and contribute where I can,' he said. 'So far, it's been a very rich experience for me so I'm certainly sure they'll be some life changing moments too.' Joseph said that because the idea of the event is to pay tribute to the Two Row Wampum, and in doing so, to build community and to build relationships between Indigenous people and their neighbours, it's nice to see how many connections they've helped facilitate throughout the years. 'We still get a lot of people who come back to participate every year, or every other year and even today, there's people who we haven't seen in a while that have come to visit,' she said. 'That's been really rewarding to see.' 'There's been people who have come for the concert today, but a lot of them have come to connect and reconnect,' added Bailey. 'It's great because that's what this is all about, connecting people and creating those relationships.' Kimberly De Jong's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
21-07-2025
- Business
She's fought for clean water for years and fears proposed Ontario permit changes will hurt First Nations
Makasa Looking Horse Henry remembers the moment she learned some people in her community had never tasted clean tap water. A lot of people have to rely on buying water, not having any hooked-up water, piped-in water and running water in their households, she said. This is a huge stressor on Indigenous women's mental health and Indigenous families' mental health. For the past eight years, Henry has fought for water sovereignty in a place that's been her home her entire life, Six Nations of the Grand River, which is near Brantford and is home to people from all six Haudenosaunee nations. Now, Henry says, a proposed regulation from the Ontario government could roll back years of advocacy and sideline voices of Indigenous communities like hers. It's honestly really, really disappointing and disheartening, she said. It feels as if the proposal is designed to keep Indigenous Peoples out of the decision-making from water extraction, and governing our own waters and governing our own lands, Henry added. Enlarge image (new window) Henry, of Six Nations near Brantford, Ont., has been advocating for Indigenous water rights for the past eight years. Photo: Submitted The proposed regulation Under the province's current regulations, companies that want to extract groundwater must apply for a permit to take water, triggering environmental assessments, public consultation, a review of the purpose for taking water and a duty to consult Indigenous communities. Businesses that might want to take groundwater include agriculture, gravel mining and water-bottling plants. The proposed regulation would allow those permits to be transferred from one company to another without reapplying, so long as the intended use for the water and amount taken stays the same or declines. That means a business could be sold to a new owner who could inherit the water rights with minimal additional review. In an emailed statement from a Ministry of the Environment spokesperson, the province said this streamlines the permit approval process, potentially cutting months off the current approval wait time. The ministry said it would also continue to review all applicants in the streamlined process to ensure requirements are met. But according to critics, such changes to the process would bypass meaningful environmental checks. What's at stake Arlene Slocombe, executive director of Wellington Water Watchers, shares Henry's concerns. The [Premier Doug] Ford government wants to make water-taking permits transferrable, meaning no input, no consent and no accountability if corporate ownership changes hands, she said in a phone interview with CBC News. Enlarge image (new window) Arlene Slocombe of Wellington Water Watchers says the proposed regulation to make water-taking permits transferrable would bypass key environmental assessments. Photo: Submitted This move to change the water-taking permit process is essentially a water-grabbing tactic that would make water-taking permits functionally and potentially eternal once approved. Slocombe warns the regulation could lead to unchecked withdrawals from groundwater systems with unknown limits. It's essentially like writing checks on a bank account that you don't know the balance of, and at some point, you run out, she said. Nobody's really tallying exactly when that 'zero' mark happens. Slocombe said while most municipal wells supplying houses and businesses eventually return water to the watershed, facilities like bottling plants could permanently remove it by shipping it beyond the local ecosystem. Another major concern is the removal of the 30-day public comment period that currently accompanies water-taking applications. Slocombe said that when BlueTriton applied for its permit to run its Aberfoyle water-bottling operation, more than 32,000 people submitted feedback. Under the new rules, a permit transfer would not require any public input. Nor would it require consultation with Indigenous groups. Again, something else that they're trying to push and take our voices out of the entire conversation, said Henry. We're not going anywhere and they need to respect us as sovereign nations. The economics of water-taking Roy Brouwer, executive director of the University of Waterloo's Water Institute and an economics professor, said the province is undervaluing the true cost of its water. Enlarge image (new window) Roy Brouwer, an economics professor at the University of Waterloo and executive director of the university's Water Institute, says the province is undervaluing the true cost of its water. Photo: Submitted He said that when he moved to Waterloo region a decade or so ago, the cost was under $5 for 1,000 cubic metres of water (one million litres). Since then, the cost has increased, but not in a way that reflects limited supply or environmental impact. They just added $500 like a round number, $500 on the permit, he said. It has all the appearances of an administrative fee. And it doesn't necessarily reflect the scarcity costs of the resource now and into the future, benefiting multiple users, said Brouwer. He believes the transfer system, as proposed, ignores the fact that water is limited. Brouwer said he's also concerned about the environmental impact. Over time … what you initially identified as a maybe limited or moderate ecological risk is perhaps a bigger risk because you actually do the pumping and you can actually observe what is happening to the natural environment. The fight in Aberfoyle Henry was a vocal critic of the former Nestlé bottling plant in Aberfoyle, later sold to BlueTriton and now owned by Ice River Springs. Despite it being part of the application process, indigenous consultation was minimal. Nobody knew in my community that water extraction … was happening. And with the lack of consultation, not even the governments knew that that was happening either, she said. Our people had no idea. Over the years, she's held groundwater awareness rallies — sometimes by herself — and delivered cease-and-desist letters on behalf of her band council. She said she secured those by going to meetings at our long house and letting our clan mothers, faith keepers and chiefs know what was happening. And so they said deliver the cease-and-desist to them. And so that's what I did. Ice River Springs, an Ontario-based bottling company and the newest owner of the Aberfoyle water-bottling facility, has yet to apply for its water-taking permit. In an emailed statement to CBC News, executive vice-president and co-owner Sandy Gott said the company supports initiatives that maintain environmental protection and it would do its work with respect for the communities in which [they] operate. Concerns about being cut out The public comment period for Ontario's proposed water permit regulation runs until Aug. 1. After that, it moves to a review and decision stage. There is no fixed timeline for when a final decision will be made. Henry said she's concerned about being cut out of the process entirely. Right now, they're trying to take every single thing that they can and they're trying to take more water, she said. And so we're just trying to fight with everything we have to protect our waters and our lands. They go hand in hand.
Global News
21-07-2025
- Global News
Indigenous group says ancient remains found at Toronto job site are missing
An Indigenous organization is threatening to stop all construction at a Toronto job site after discovering that ancestral remains stored in a dump truck for over a year are now missing. The Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI), representing the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, said it's threatening to halt construction activities on Withrow Avenue after feeling like its pleas to find the remains were ignored. The HDI claims the City of Toronto and its consultants withheld access to the remains and denied repeated requests for involvement. The remains were excavated from a site located in what is acknowledged as historic Haudenosaunee territory. 'We've been denied basic information, denied consultation and denied respect,' said Aaron Detlor, legal counsel for HDI. 'Now we have been told, in writing, that those remains are actually sitting in a dump truck. This is beyond negligent.' Story continues below advertisement Archaeological Services Inc. (ASI), the consultant hired by the city, has confirmed that the human remains were placed in a dump truck and removed from the site, though they have not disclosed where the remains were taken. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The Withrow Avenue site sits on top of an ancient Indigenous village and is designated a burial site investigation zone, according to the release. A city plaque across the street even marks the area's significance. HDI says it never consented to the excavation or handling of the remains, which it says violates both Canadian and international law. Other archaeological firms reportedly declined to work on the site due to ethical concerns. HDI alleges ASI proceeded without the required free, prior and informed consent from the Haudenosaunee. The group is calling for the immediate return of the remains and an end to all archaeological activity on the site until its jurisdiction is fully recognized. It says it's prepared to take direct action if the city does not comply. 'The remains of Haudenosaunee ancestors must not be treated like trash,' the statement read. 'They must be returned to the Earth with ceremony and dignity, not treated like garbage.' The city said it plans on holding a news conference on the issue. The remains were first uncovered in January 2024 during routine utility work. Since then, the site has been fenced off under 24-7 security, with the city spending nearly $200,000 to monitor it. Yet, no formal excavation or repatriation process has begun. Story continues below advertisement Tanya Hill-Montour, the archaeology supervisor for Six Nations of the Grand River, has previously criticized the city's lack of urgency and transparency. Hill-Montour said if the remains were of a European settler, she felt there would be more urgency to see a resolution to the matter by now. City officials have cited weather delays and ongoing negotiations with First Nations as reasons for the slow progress. However, HDI maintains that Indigenous communities with rightful jurisdiction were excluded from decision-making. The conflict also highlights growing concern over Ontario's Bill 5, which gives provincial ministers the power to override heritage and environmental protections, raising fears that more Indigenous burial sites could be compromised. For now, HDI says it will act independently to investigate and protect its ancestors unless the city reverses course. 'Due to the appalling disregard shown by the City of Toronto, we must proceed with our own investigation,' the HDI said. — with files from Matthew Bingley
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
She's fought for clean water for years and fears proposed Ontario permit changes will hurt First Nations
Makasa Looking Horse Henry remembers the moment she learned some people in her community had never tasted clean tap water. "A lot of people have to rely on buying water, not having any hooked-up water, piped-in water and running water in their households," she said. "This is a huge stressor on Indigenous women's mental health and Indigenous families' mental health." For the past eight years, Henry has fought for water sovereignty in a place that's been her home her entire life, Six Nations of the Grand River, which is near Brantford and is home to people from all six Haudenosaunee nations. Now, Henry says, a proposed regulation from the Ontario government could roll back years of advocacy and sideline voices of Indigenous communities like hers. "It's honestly really, really disappointing and disheartening," she said. It feels as if the proposal is designed to "keep Indigenous Peoples out of the decision-making from water extraction, and governing our own waters and governing our own lands," Henry added. The proposed regulation Under the province's current regulations, companies that want to extract groundwater must apply for a permit to take water, triggering environmental assessments, public consultation, a review of the purpose for taking water and a duty to consult Indigenous communities. Businesses that might want to take groundwater include agriculture, gravel mining and water-bottling plants. The proposed regulation would allow those permits to be transferred from one company to another without reapplying, so long as the intended use for the water and amount taken stays the same or declines. That means a business could be sold to a new owner who could inherit the water rights with minimal additional review. In an emailed statement from a Ministry of the Environment spokesperson, the province said this streamlines the permit approval process, potentially cutting months off the current approval wait time. The ministry said it would also continue to review all applicants in the streamlined process to ensure requirements are met. But according to critics, such changes to the process would bypass meaningful environmental checks. What's at stake Arlene Slocombe, executive director of Wellington Water Watchers, shares Henry's concerns. "The [Premier Doug] Ford government wants to make water-taking permits transferrable, meaning no input, no consent and no accountability if corporate ownership changes hands," she said in a phone interview with CBC News. "This move to change the water-taking permit process is essentially a water-grabbing tactic that would make water-taking permits functionally and potentially eternal once approved." Slocombe warns the regulation could lead to unchecked withdrawals from groundwater systems with unknown limits. "It's essentially like writing checks on a bank account that you don't know the balance of, and at some point, you run out," she said. "Nobody's really tallying exactly when that 'zero' mark happens." Slocombe said while most municipal wells supplying houses and businesses eventually return water to the watershed, facilities like bottling plants could permanently remove it by shipping it beyond the local ecosystem. Another major concern is the removal of the 30-day public comment period that currently accompanies water-taking applications. Slocombe said that when BlueTriton applied for its permit to run its Aberfoyle water-bottling operation, more than 32,000 people submitted feedback. Under the new rules, a permit transfer would not require any public input. Nor would it require consultation with Indigenous groups. "Again, something else that they're trying to push and take our voices out of the entire conversation," said Henry. "We're not going anywhere and they need to respect us as sovereign nations." The economics of water-taking Roy Brouwer, executive director of the University of Waterloo's Water Institute and an economics professor, said the province is undervaluing the true cost of its water. He said that when he moved to Waterloo region a decade or so ago, the cost was under $5 for 1,000 cubic metres of water (one million litres). Since then, the cost has increased, but not in a way that reflects limited supply or environmental impact. "They just added $500 like a round number, $500 on the permit," he said. "It has all the appearances of an administrative fee. And it doesn't necessarily reflect the scarcity costs of the resource now and into the future, benefiting multiple users," said Brouwer. He believes the transfer system, as proposed, ignores the fact that water is limited. Brouwer said he's also concerned about the environmental impact. "Over time … what you initially identified as a maybe limited or moderate ecological risk is perhaps a bigger risk because you actually do the pumping and you can actually observe what is happening to the natural environment." The fight in Aberfoyle Henry was a vocal critic of the former Nestlé bottling plant in Aberfoyle, later sold to BlueTriton and now owned by Ice River Springs. Despite it being part of the application process, indigenous consultation was minimal. "Nobody knew in my community that water extraction … was happening. And with the lack of consultation, not even the governments knew that that was happening either," she said. "Our people had no idea." Over the years, she's held groundwater awareness rallies — sometimes by herself — and delivered cease-and-desist letters on behalf of her band council. She said she secured those by "going to meetings at our long house and letting our clan mothers, faith keepers and chiefs know what was happening. And so they said deliver the cease-and-desist to them. And so that's what I did." Ice River Springs, an Ontario-based bottling company and the newest owner of the Aberfoyle water-bottling facility, has yet to apply for its water-taking permit. In an emailed statement to CBC News, executive vice-president and co-owner Sandy Gott said the company "supports initiatives that maintain environmental protection" and it would do its work "with respect for the communities in which [they] operate." Concerns about being cut out The public comment period for Ontario's proposed water permit regulation runs until Aug. 1. After that, it moves to a review and decision stage. There is no fixed timeline for when a final decision will be made. Henry said she's concerned about being cut out of the process entirely. "Right now, they're trying to take every single thing that they can and they're trying to take more water," she said. "And so we're just trying to fight with everything we have to protect our waters and our lands. They go hand in hand."
CBC
21-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
She's fought for clean water for years and fears proposed Ontario permit changes will hurt First Nations
Makasa Looking Horse Henry remembers the moment she learned some people in her community had never tasted clean tap water. "A lot of people have to rely on buying water, not having any hooked-up water, piped-in water and running water in their households," she said. "This is a huge stressor on Indigenous women's mental health and Indigenous families' mental health." For the past eight years, Henry has fought for water sovereignty in a place that's been her home her entire life, Six Nations of the Grand River, which is near Brantford and is home to people from all six Haudenosaunee nations. Now, Henry says, a proposed regulation from the Ontario government could roll back years of advocacy and sideline voices of Indigenous communities like hers. "It's honestly really, really disappointing and disheartening," she said. It feels as if the proposal is designed to "keep Indigenous Peoples out of the decision-making from water extraction, and governing our own waters and governing our own lands," Henry added. The proposed regulation Under the province's current regulations, companies that want to extract groundwater must apply for a permit to take water, triggering environmental assessments, public consultation, a review of the purpose for taking water and a duty to consult Indigenous communities. Businesses that might want to take groundwater include agriculture, gravel mining and water-bottling plants. The proposed regulation would allow those permits to be transferred from one company to another without reapplying, so long as the intended use for the water and amount taken stays the same or declines. That means a business could be sold to a new owner who could inherit the water rights with minimal additional review. In an emailed statement from a Ministry of the Environment spokesperson, the province said this streamlines the permit approval process, potentially cutting months off the current approval wait time. The ministry said it would also continue to review all applicants in the streamlined process to ensure requirements are met. But according to critics, such changes to the process would bypass meaningful environmental checks. What's at stake Arlene Slocombe, executive director of Wellington Water Watchers, shares Henry's concerns. "The [Premier Doug] Ford government wants to make water-taking permits transferrable, meaning no input, no consent and no accountability if corporate ownership changes hands," she said in a phone interview with CBC News. "This move to change the water-taking permit process is essentially a water-grabbing tactic that would make water-taking permits functionally and potentially eternal once approved." Slocombe warns the regulation could lead to unchecked withdrawals from groundwater systems with unknown limits. "It's essentially like writing checks on a bank account that you don't know the balance of, and at some point, you run out," she said. "Nobody's really tallying exactly when that 'zero' mark happens." Slocombe said while most municipal wells supplying houses and businesses eventually return water to the watershed, facilities like bottling plants could permanently remove it by shipping it beyond the local ecosystem. Another major concern is the removal of the 30-day public comment period that currently accompanies water-taking applications. Slocombe said that when BlueTriton applied for its permit to run its Aberfoyle water-bottling operation, more than 32,000 people submitted feedback. Under the new rules, a permit transfer would not require any public input. Nor would it require consultation with Indigenous groups. "Again, something else that they're trying to push and take our voices out of the entire conversation," said Henry. "We're not going anywhere and they need to respect us as sovereign nations." The economics of water-taking Roy Brouwer, executive director of the University of Waterloo's Water Institute and an economics professor, said the province is undervaluing the true cost of its water. He said that when he moved to Waterloo region a decade or so ago, the cost was under $5 for 1,000 cubic metres of water (one million litres). Since then, the cost has increased, but not in a way that reflects limited supply or environmental impact. "They just added $500 like a round number, $500 on the permit," he said. "It has all the appearances of an administrative fee. And it doesn't necessarily reflect the scarcity costs of the resource now and into the future, benefiting multiple users," said Brouwer. He believes the transfer system, as proposed, ignores the fact that water is limited. Brouwer said he's also concerned about the environmental impact. "Over time … what you initially identified as a maybe limited or moderate ecological risk is perhaps a bigger risk because you actually do the pumping and you can actually observe what is happening to the natural environment." The fight in Aberfoyle Henry was a vocal critic of the former Nestlé bottling plant in Aberfoyle, later sold to BlueTriton and now owned by Ice River Springs. Despite it being part of the application process, indigenous consultation was minimal. "Nobody knew in my community that water extraction … was happening. And with the lack of consultation, not even the governments knew that that was happening either," she said. "Our people had no idea." Over the years, she's held groundwater awareness rallies — sometimes by herself — and delivered cease-and-desist letters on behalf of her band council. She said she secured those by "going to meetings at our long house and letting our clan mothers, faith keepers and chiefs know what was happening. And so they said deliver the cease-and-desist to them. And so that's what I did." Ice River Springs, an Ontario-based bottling company and the newest owner of the Aberfoyle water-bottling facility, has yet to apply for its water-taking permit. In an emailed statement to CBC News, executive vice-president and co-owner Sandy Gott said the company "supports initiatives that maintain environmental protection" and it would do its work "with respect for the communities in which [they] operate." Concerns about being cut out The public comment period for Ontario's proposed water permit regulation runs until Aug. 1. After that, it moves to a review and decision stage. There is no fixed timeline for when a final decision will be made. Henry said she's concerned about being cut out of the process entirely. "Right now, they're trying to take every single thing that they can and they're trying to take more water," she said.
