Growth, change and trust: A veteran journalist shares what new reporters should know
Release Date: 08/28/2025
People in Nunavik say change is needed after another police involved shooting
APTN News InFocus
People in a small community in Nunavik are devastated after another shooting involving police in late December. But police shootings in the Inuit territory in northern Quebec are nothing new. Between 2016 and 2018, Nunavik police killed or seriously injured someone at a rate 55 times higher per capita than Montreal police. Some say part of the problem is that only three of the 155-person force are Inuit. On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens speaks with Tom Fennario, a correspondent with APTN Investigates, about the problems with the Nunavik Police Service. • • • APTN...
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From Trudeau’s resignation to Jordan’s Principle: A year in review and what lies ahead
APTN News InFocus
On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens is joined by Karyn Pugliese, APTN’s senior online reporter and host of Nation to Nation, and Dennis Ward, host of APTN National News and Face to Face, for a year in review. We break down the biggest stories of the year, from Justin Trudeau’s resignation and the evolving Liberal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney to the appointment of Canada’s first Indigenous minister of Indigenous Services and the debate around Bill S-2. We also look at Jordan’s Principle, tensions within Indigenous organizations and what reporters...
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Can Nunavut fix its child welfare crisis?
APTN News InFocus
On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens looks at the state of child welfare in Nunavut and why advocates say the territory is falling behind. Child and youth representative Jane Bates has been raising the alarm for years. In her latest report she says the territory is making little progress in the areas most critical to keeping young people safe. She joins us to talk about what has to change and why she says Nunavut needs action not explanation. We also hear from the minister of Family Services on how she plans to address the concerns raised by Bates and the auditor...
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Who gets status? Inside the fight over the second-generation cut off
APTN News InFocus
On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens looks at the debate over the second-generation cut-off in the Indian Act. The Senate’s Indigenous Affairs committee is reviewing Bill S-2, proposed legislation from the government that ends some discrimination against women in the Indian Act - but not all. The committee also wants to add an amendment to end what is called the second-generation cutoff and replace it with a one-parent rule for status entitlement. Lawyer and professor Pam Palmater joins us to share what’s at stake for families like hers and talk about the fact...
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Ivan Zinger: Why Canada’s prison watchdog is leaving early
APTN News InFocus
On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens speaks with Canada’s outgoing Correctional Investigator, Ivan Zinger, about why he’s leaving the job early after eight years. In his final annual report, he called for an overhaul of mental health services in federal corrections, arguing that they’re ill-equipped to provide long-term care. The minister of Public Safety and the commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada did not make themselves available for an interview. • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: Hear...
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The Cowichan win and what it really means for Richmond, B.C. residents
APTN News InFocus
On this episode of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens takes a closer look at the B.C. court decision that recognized Aboriginal title rights for Cowichan Tribes and the misinformation that followed. Some residents of Richmond, B.C., now fear they’ll lose their homes, despite clear public statements from Cowichan leadership that private landowners are not being targeted. Vancouver-based lawyer Kate Gunn from First Peoples Law joins the show to walk us through the legal context of the ruling and what it could mean for future title cases. • • • APTN National News, our stories told our...
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Budget 2025: How it affects Indigenous Peoples
APTN News InFocus
On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens breaks down what Budget 2025 means for First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Prime Minister Mark Carney has called it a “generational budget” – a bold, nearly $90-billion in new spending plan he says charts a new path forward for Canada. But what makes this budget bold? And who does it leave behind? Joining the show is Nation to Nation host and APTN’s online correspondent in Ottawa Karyn Pugliese with analysis of the 493-page document and what it signals for Indigenous communities. Also on the show, Lisa Gue from the David...
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Bail reform and what it means for Indigenous Peoples
APTN News InFocus
On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens explores how Canada’s proposed bail reform bill is stirring debate. Justice Minister Sean Fraser says the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act is meant to restore public confidence in a system he admits is no longer working for many Canadians. But critics warn the bill could do more harm than good. Among them is Sen. Kim Pate, who has spent over four decades advocating for people criminalized by the system. She shares her concerns about what she calls a “politicized” approach to reform and what real change would look like. Also on the...
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Trump’s move to scrub Indigenous Peoples from U.S. history
APTN News InFocus
On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens examines why the Trump administration is attempting to erase Indigenous Peoples from U.S. history. On Oct. 9, former president Donald Trump signed a proclamation restoring Columbus Day, calling the explorer “a true American hero” and suggesting that “every citizen is eternally indebted to his relentless determination”. To dig into the implications, Cierra talks with Brett Chapman, a Ponca and Pawnee lawyer based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His ancestor, Chief Standing Bear, was a civil rights activist. Today, Chapman continues that...
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Why Nunavut is in a food crisis
APTN News InFocus
On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens explores why food insecurity in Nunavut has hit a breaking point. In a territory where climate change and inflation are making food more expensive and harder to access, many families struggle to put healthy meals on the table. For some, even country foods like seal and caribou are out of reach. A pediatrician working in the community says Nunavut’s crisis is the worst she’s seen. In 2022, Statistics Canada reported that 79 per cent of children under 14 in the territory lived in food-insecure households. APTN News correspondent Jesse...
info_outlineThis week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens continues her conversation with veteran journalist and outgoing APTN web reporter Kathleen Martens.
With more than 35 years in the industry, Kathleen reflects on the lessons she’s learned like what it takes to build trust with sources and adapt in a fast-changing media landscape.
She also shares insights for emerging journalists navigating the profession, and what she hopes for the future of Indigenous-focused news coverage.
Read more of Kathleen’s reporting at http://aptnnews.ca/ and find the Our Relatives podcast here: https://aptnnews.ca/ourrelatives
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APTN National News, our stories told our way.
Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca
Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/