Is journalism under fire in Canada?
APTN News InFocus
Protests are a familiar sight across the country and journalists are often there documenting what unfolds. But what happens when police ignore their credentials? On this episode of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens examines growing concerns around press freedom in Canada. Photojournalist Amber Bracken shares her arrest on Wet’suwet’en territory while covering an RCMP raid. The episode also features Indigenous journalist Brandi Morin, who reflects on reporting from the front lines and the risks journalists face. Sonya Fatah of the Canada Press Freedom Project breaks down national...
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Métis identity and the controversy in Ontario
APTN News InFocus
On Feb. 26, APTN News hosted a panel examining Métis identity and the ongoing controversy surrounding the Métis Nation of Ontario. The discussion also explored modern treaties and self-government agreements. Host Dennis Ward was joined in studio by Scott McLeod, Lake Huron regional chief for the Anishinabek Nation, Celeste Pedri-Spade, an associate professor at McGill University and Will Goodon, minister of identity protection and inter-Indigenous relations with the Manitoba Metis Federation. On this episode of APTN News InFocus, we bring you that full panel discussion. • • • APTN...
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Operation Nanook: Inside Canada’s largest Arctic training exercise
APTN News InFocus
Every winter, the Canadian Armed Forces runs Operation Nanook-Nunalivut, a military training exercise focused on Arctic defence. This year’s operation was the largest to date. Up to 1,300 members were deployed across Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, alongside allies from the United States, Belgium, France and Denmark. The exercise has been running for nearly 20 years. But with rising geopolitical tensions, it is taking on new meaning. APTN video journalist Charlotte Morrit-Jacobs travelled to the training camp in Edzo, about 100 kilometres west of Yellowknife, for a two-part...
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Indian Day School records go digital
APTN News InFocus
Canada is wrapping up its Indian Day School digitization project. Since 2022, Library and Archives Canada has digitized more than six million records from 699 Indian day schools that operated between the 1860s and 2000. An estimated 200,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children attended. On this edition of APTN News InFocus host Cierra Bettens speaks with Beth Greenhorn, a manager with the Day School Project, about how the records were digitized and how they may support survivors. Jackson Pind, author of Students by Day and a professor at Trent University, also joins the podcast to discuss...
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A town in Canada where explosives were just part of growing up
APTN News InFocus
APTN Investigates is going behind the scenes of its latest documentary, War on the Land. Reported by APTN Investigates journalist Kenneth Jackson, the story focuses on a former explosives plant in Nobel, Ont., about 250 kilometres north of Toronto. The factory helped supply two world wars. But decades after closing in 1985, contamination concerns remain. Shawanaga First Nation is now calling on the prime minister to ensure the site is cleaned up. On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens speaks with Jackson about how he uncovered the story and whether the land can ever be...
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Is ending drug decriminalization the right move for B.C.?
APTN News InFocus
British Columbia has ended its drug decriminalization pilot program. Launched in January 2023, the exemption allowed adults to carry small amounts of certain illicit drugs in an effort to reduce stigma and address the toxic drug crisis. But on Jan. 31, the province let the pilot expire, saying it did not deliver the results hoped for. The move has sparked mixed reaction. Some, including Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, call it a setback for harm reduction. Others, like Haisla Nation member and outreach worker James Harry, say the crisis on the ground has only...
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AIM, ICE and the history of Indigenous activism in Minneapolis
APTN News InFocus
Indigenous activism has long shaped Minneapolis. In 1968, the American Indian Movement was founded there, marking a turning point in the fight for Indigenous rights. More than 50 years later, AIM members are back on the streets, responding to fears of racial profiling and unlawful detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE. On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens explores how Minneapolis’ history of Indigenous activism connects to today’s Native-led response to ICE. She is joined by Heather Bruegl, a public historian, activist and a citizen of the...
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Will discrimination against First Nation kids in care finally end?
APTN News InFocus
It has been ten years since the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled that Canada discriminated against First Nations children on reserve by underfunding child welfare services. Yet children and families are still waiting for the system to be fixed. There are now plans in place to end the discrimination. On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens speaks with Indigenous Services Canada Minister Mandy Gull-Masty and Cindy Blackstock of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society about why the proposed plans to end discrimination in First Nations child welfare has taken so...
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How Dan David transformed Indigenous journalism
APTN News InFocus
On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens honours the life and legacy of Dan David, the father of APTN. David, a Mohawk journalist, spent 45 years transforming how Indigenous stories are told in Canada and around the world. From reporting for CBC and producing for TVOntario and VISION TV, to rebuilding newsrooms in South Africa, his work set the foundation for Indigenous journalism. In 2000, he co-launched InVision News, now APTN National News. On January 12, David passed into the spirit world at the age of 73 after living with cancer. To reflect on his life and impact, Cierra...
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Taken returns as search for Tanya Nepinak renews calls for justice
APTN News InFocus
APTN’s true crime documentary series Taken is back after a seven-year hiatus. The series first put a national spotlight on the case of Tanya Nepinak, a 31-year-old mother who went missing in Winnipeg in 2011. Nearly a decade after Taken aired her story, Manitoba announced plans to search the Brady landfill for her remains, renewing calls for justice from her family. On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens looks at the legacy of Taken and its impact on cases involving Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit people. She is joined by Dinae Robinson, head of...
info_outlineCanada is wrapping up its Indian Day School digitization project.
Since 2022, Library and Archives Canada has digitized more than six million records from 699 Indian day schools that operated between the 1860s and 2000. An estimated 200,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children attended.
On this edition of APTN News InFocus host Cierra Bettens speaks with Beth Greenhorn, a manager with the Day School Project, about how the records were digitized and how they may support survivors. Jackson Pind, author of Students by Day and a professor at Trent University, also joins the podcast to discuss the importance of the project and share what kind of stories the records tell.
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