Decision 2025: What the results mean for Indigenous Peoples and the NDP
APTN News InFocus
This week on APTN News InFocus, we break down the results of the April 28 federal election. The Liberals remain in power and the Conservatives will form the official opposition. The Bloc Québécois lost seats and the NDP dropped to just seven—losing official party status in the process. Twelve First Nations, Inuit and Métis candidates were elected across party lines. One of them is Mi’kmaw Liberal MP Jaime Battiste, now the most senior Indigenous member in the party. He speaks with APTN National News host Dennis Ward about what’s next. We also take a closer look at what the NDP’s...
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Decision 2025: Are Indigenous issues still on the sidelines this election?
APTN News InFocus
This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens checks in as the federal election campaign hits its final stretch. For more than a month, party leaders have been making promises about prosperity, wealth and good governance—but what’s in it for Indigenous Peoples? Dennis Ward, host of APTN National News, and Jennifer Laewetz, political commentator and panelist on APTN’s Truth and Politics panel, return to weigh in. We also head to Onigaming First Nation in northwestern Ontario. Our Parliament Hill correspondent Karyn Pugliese brings us a story about the community’s concerns—and...
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#DataBack: Indigenous data sovereignty in the age of Big Tech
APTN News InFocus
This week on APTN InFocus, host Cierra Bettens explores the growing movement for Indigenous data sovereignty. In a TED Talk, British investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr warns we may already be “living inside the architecture of totalitarianism,” referring to the predatory ways big tech companies harvest, use and sell data. Data holds a lot. It holds stories, histories, languages — all the information that defines who we are and where we come from. It’s also a resource — and like other resources, it can be exploited by corporate and colonial interests. To unpack what Indigenous...
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Who is Métis?: The identity battle and report stirring backlash
APTN News InFocus
This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens unpacks the latest controversy over Métis identity in Ontario. The Métis National Council released a report suggesting the existence of seven historic Métis communities in the province—a claim swiftly rejected by the Manitoba Métis Federation, Métis Nation–Saskatchewan, Métis Nation British Columbia and the Chiefs of Ontario. To make sense of the report, Cierra is joined by Jean Teillet, a retired Métis lawyer, author and the great-grandniece of Louis Riel. • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website...
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Canada’s Arctic: Sovereignty, security and the legacy of relocation
APTN News InFocus
This week on APTN InFocus, host Cierra Bettens explores what Arctic sovereignty really means for Inuit in the North. As federal leaders call for more military infrastructure - from bases in Iqaluit to new fleets of fighter jets - questions are being raised about who these efforts protect, and at what cost. Journalist David Pugliese from the Ottawa Citizen joins Bettens to break down Canada’s defence strategy and what’s driving the push for control in the region. Also, former APTN reporter Danielle Paradis reflects on her 2023 podcast The Place That Thaws, which revisits the forced...
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Decision 2025: The promises and oversights affecting Indigenous Peoples
APTN News InFocus
This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens takes a closer look at where Indigenous issues stand as federal parties ramp up their campaigns. The five main political parties have been working the campaign trail since March 23. Threats from the United States and other foreign powers are, so far, dominating the campaign. But what have candidates been saying about Indigenous issues—from housing to water to free, prior and informed consent? APTN National News host Dennis Ward and Jennifer Laewetz, CEO of Paskwâw Harbour Strategies and panelist on APTN’s Truth & Politics podcast...
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Who holds power to account? A look inside policing
APTN News InFocus
This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens takes a closer look at policing in Canada and its impact on Indigenous Peoples. In the final months of 2024, 15 Indigenous people died after interactions with police—some were shot, others beaten to death or run over by cruisers. Their deaths have reignited calls for a national inquiry into systemic racism in policing, the focus of Inside Policing, a three-part series from APTN Investigates. Reporters Tamara Pimentel, Rob Smith and Tom Fennario join us to discuss their findings. Police interactions with journalists are also under scrutiny....
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The search for four Indigenous women: A timeline
APTN News InFocus
This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens examines the years-long fight to search the Prairie Green landfill and the delays that kept families waiting. In December 2022, Cambria Harris stood on Parliament Hill, pleading for a search of the landfill where her mother, Morgan Harris, and others were believed to be. Despite her calls for action, it took two more years for the search to begin. APTN News senior online journalist Kathleen Martens joins us to break down the timeline and the latest developments. • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for...
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Dispatches from Grassy Narrows: The ground breaking of the mercury health centre and the fight for accountability
APTN News InFocus
This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens examines the mercury crisis in Grassy Narrows and the community’s ongoing fight for justice and healing. In the 1960s and '70s, the Dryden paper mill dumped nearly nine tonnes of mercury into the English-Wabigoon River system, devastating the downstream community of Grassy Narrows. Today, an estimated 90 per cent of the community has symptoms of mercury poisoning. On March 5, officials gathered for the ground breaking of a long-awaited health centre dedicated to mercury poisoning care—five years after the deal to build it was signed. APTN...
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Tariffs, trade wars and treaties: What’s at stake for Indigenous business?
APTN News InFocus
This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens examines the impact of the looming trade war between Canada and the U.S. and what it means for Indigenous businesses. As U.S. President Donald Trump plans to move ahead with 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian exports, companies across the country are scrambling to adapt. But for Indigenous businesses, many of which already face barriers, the economic uncertainty is especially challenging. Shane Prevost, vice president of Bison Modular, is looking to a centuries-old agreement for solutions. The Jay Treaty, signed in 1794, grants Indigenous...
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