Investigates

APTN Investigates is the first Indigenous investigative news program in Canada, offering viewers hard-hitting reports and stories. Produced by award-winning journalists, APTN Investigates is committed to seeking the truth for our people.

Kathleen Martens looks back at her series on the Independent Assessment Process 11/16/2025

Kathleen Martens looks back at her series on the Independent Assessment Process In a special edition of APTN Investigates Retrospectives, recently-retired APTN reporter Kathleen Martens looks back at her groundbreaking series on the Independent Assessment Process (IAP). Martens spoke with many residential school survivors who felt that they were once again being taken advantage of – and sought accountability at the highest levels of Canadian bureaucracy. Complaints lead to IAP investigation - Originally aired Nov 28, 2011: IAP Follow-Up - Originally aired March 9, 2012: Abuse of Process - Originally aired April 19, 2013: • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: Hear more APTN News podcasts: /episode/index/show/investigates/id/39084100

Pipe Dreams: The Water Crisis in Nunavik 11/11/2025

Pipe Dreams: The Water Crisis in Nunavik The population of Puvirnituq, QC is booming… but their water infrastructure is breaking. For years the Inuit community in Nunavik has had water shortages, and documents obtained by APTN Investigates show that a permanent solution might be a pipe dream. Pipe Dreams: The Water Crisis in Nunavik | By Tom Fennario • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: Hear more APTN News podcasts: /episode/index/show/investigates/id/38985260

Out of the Darkness 11/04/2025

Out of the Darkness APTN Investigates video journalist Rob Smith travels home to Kingcome Inlet, BC to explore how his family dealt with a year of grief and loss. What he found was a resilient clan determined to stick together through love and culture in the face of tragedies and decades of compounding trauma. A path towards healing, out of the darkness. APTN Investigates: Out of the Darkness | By Rob Smith • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: Hear more APTN News podcasts: /episode/index/show/investigates/id/38900735

Fields of Confinement 10/27/2025

Fields of Confinement Prisoners across Canada are producing goods for crown corporations and more recently, for public consumption. Experts warn the true cost of this labour goes far beyond dollars, raising difficult questions about dignity, rehabilitation and justice. APTN Investigates: Fields of Confinement | By Brittany Guyot • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: Hear more APTN News podcasts: /episode/index/show/investigates/id/38800775

Secrets of the Bay – Chapter 5 10/18/2025

Secrets of the Bay – Chapter 5 The mystery man is finally revealed. He sits down with reporter Kenneth Jackson and explains why he left Tyendinaga 10 years ago after the bodies of Tyler Maracle and Matty Fairman were pulled from the water. And has never returned. APTN Investigates: Secrets of the Bay - Chapter 5 | By Kenneth Jackson • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: Hear more APTN News podcasts: /episode/index/show/investigates/id/38647570

Justice for my Sister 10/13/2025

Justice for my Sister The 1963 rape and murder of 18-year-old Ann Mary Dick devastated the small Kaska community of Upper Liard, Yukon. Now, more than five decades later, her siblings are seeking justice over the RCMP’s mishandling of the investigation and that of another historic death in the region. APTN Investigates: Justice for my Sister | By Tamara Pimentel • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: Hear more APTN News podcasts: /episode/index/show/investigates/id/38547540

Sacrifice Zones 06/21/2025

Sacrifice Zones Indigenous People are climbing over industry-imposed fence lines to raise concerns about the lack of inclusion in addressing plastic pollution. In a special hour-long episode, APTN Investigates takes a microscopic look at “sacrifice zones” to find out exactly how Indigenous rights are being upheld. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/37138460

Cherished Woods: The Fight for Lemay 06/14/2025

Cherished Woods: The Fight for Lemay In the woods near a former orphanage, records suggest that many children, including unknown numbers of Métis, remain in unmarked graves. Activists have fought hard to protect Lemay Forest from private development – and then Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew stepped in. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/37027155

Skin-Deep 06/07/2025

Skin-Deep Every tattoo has a story. For some it’s a constant reminder of a traumatic past influenced by gangs and violence. As three Winnipeg women navigate the system for a better life, they work on erasing a past that is only skin-deep. Tamara Pimentel investigates. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/36923455

A Good Death 05/31/2025

A Good Death April Hubbard is one of thousands who have been approved for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD). Her story offers a rare look at how people navigate love, loss and the deeply personal decision to end their life on their own terms. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/36825115

Unmuted 05/03/2025

Unmuted Accusations of racist bullying in government jobs. Two Indigenous men asked to sign NDAs that would silence them. Backed by a legal expert, they’re blowing the whistle and going public. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/36440490

Secrets of the Bay: Chapter 4 04/26/2025

Secrets of the Bay: Chapter 4 When two Mohawk men drowned 10 years ago today their deaths were quickly ruled accidents. But an investigation by APTN Investigates has changed that. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/36358565

Inside Policing: Watching the Watchers 04/05/2025

Inside Policing: Watching the Watchers For more than two decades, Indigenous people standing up for their rights have faced the full weight of the state’s power. From frontline clashes with specialized RCMP units, to being watched by Canada’s intelligence agency, government actions have come under scrutiny. APTN Investigates asks: who’s watching the watchers? /episode/index/show/investigates/id/36054630

Inside Policing: Essential Service 03/29/2025

Inside Policing: Essential Service Underfunded, overwhelmed, and overlooked - Indigenous police forces are in crisis. As they battle soaring crime, a worsening drug crisis, and a funding model that doesn’t recognize them as essential, APTN Investigates heads to the front lines to expose the true cost of underfunding First Nations policing. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/35915370

Inside Policing: Deadly Force 03/22/2025

Inside Policing: Deadly Force In the final months of 2024, 15 Indigenous people were killed in police altercations or died while in custody. As recent calls for a national inquiry into systemic racism in policing go unanswered, APTN Investigates the strained relationship between Indigenous people and law enforcement agencies in Canada. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/35845775

Dynamite Bay 03/02/2025

Dynamite Bay Once a thriving Ontario port, Depot Harbour was devastated by a 1945 munitions fire. Today, Wasauksing First Nation members say explosives and industrial toxins remain, while Canada delays a long-overdue cleanup. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/35520040

Something in the Water 02/23/2025

Something in the Water For more than 50 years, the people of Grassy Narrows have lived with the serious health effects of mercury contamination. Residents say their community is the target of environmental racism. Now, plans for a nearby nuclear waste facility present a new threat. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/35411910

Scanned 12/01/2024

Scanned The aim is to make communities safer. But the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act – or SCAN – is under scrutiny after being used to evict a family of 10 in the Yukon winter. Christopher Read introduces you to the woman who successfully took on SCAN in the Yukon Supreme Court. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/34252010

Their Worst Fears 11/23/2024

Their Worst Fears Na-Cho Nyak Dun First Nation Chief Dawna Hope guides us through an incident on her people's traditional territory. A catastrophic mining failure that caused anger and confusion across the Yukon. For some, their worst fears are realized. Story by video journalist Rob Smith. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/34144641

Time Immemorial 10/19/2024

Time Immemorial The Algonquin Nation has resided in the Ottawa River Basin since time immemorial. But the storing of nuclear waste - which will last for 15 generations - goes beyond their teaching of safeguarding the land for seven generations. Story by video journalist Tom Fennario. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/33556477

Echoes from the Drain 10/12/2024

Echoes from the Drain Charles Oudie's body was found wedged in a Vancouver storm drain in 2015. Authorities declared his death an accident before the autopsy was complete. Oudie's family still has questions. Was it an accident? Or is there something more beneath the surface? Story by reporter Brittany Guyot. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/33475107

The Great Change 10/05/2024

The Great Change With big city drug dealers moving into their communities and preying on the vulnerable, Anishinaabe from Wasauksing First Nation in Ontario begin to address the root causes of addiction that attracts them. And that begins with first speaking the truth. Story by reporter Kenneth Jackson. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/33367502

Orphans of Church and State 06/21/2024

Orphans of Church and State When it comes to institutional child abuse in Canada, Quebec's Duplessis Orphans are considered second only to residential schools. Some Duplessis Orphans are Indigenous—and time is running out for justice to be done. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/31872282

Some Assembly Required 06/19/2024

Some Assembly Required The Assembly of First Nations is the top rung of Indigenous governance. But behind closed doors, the AFN has been plagued by infighting and power struggles. APTN Investigates looks at the challenges facing Indigenous governance, from pre-contact to today. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/31811802

Secrets of the Bay - Chapter 3 06/07/2024

Secrets of the Bay - Chapter 3 In 2015, two Mohawk fishermen drowned. Police claimed they were stealing fish, took too many and the boat sank. Police didn't bother to test these claims. So we did and used the same boat. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/31688017

Wrecking Crew 05/31/2024

Wrecking Crew Life in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside has been devastating for people just trying to survive. Wars on the poor. Wars on drugs. Crisis after crisis for the unhoused. In their own words, residents tell APTN Investigates' Rob Smith their tales of survival. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/31587507

Beyond the Strip 05/10/2024

Beyond the Strip The Manwin Hotel in Winnipeg has been a hub for drugs and violence. It was the scene of two homicides in the last year. But with a lack of housing, it’s also become a last resort for the city’s vulnerable population. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/31278057

Lost Spirit 05/03/2024

Lost Spirit Stanley Morris Peters was killed in a hit and run in 1987 near the community of Mount Currie B.C. and his body has never been found. More than 35 years later, his family continues to search for answers — and believes someone knows what happened. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/31165007

Inside the Band Office: Stonewalled 04/19/2024

Inside the Band Office: Stonewalled Members of a First Nation in Alberta say urgent action is needed to increase financial transparency in their community. Court documents raise suspicions of how band money is spent, while Elders are forced off-reserve after their house is condemned. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/30941063

Inside the Band Office: Peters' Indian Problem 04/12/2024

Inside the Band Office: Peters' Indian Problem A band council in the Fraser Valley has been found guilty of unlawfully denying band membership and writing themselves blank cheques. Yet, council remains in power as elders die waiting for justice. Kenneth Jackson returns to a story he first broke in 2017. /episode/index/show/investigates/id/30830698

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