Latest news with #AssemblyofManitobaChiefs
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Yahoo
WestJet agent rejects First Nations elder's ID card, prevents him from boarding
A First Nations elder says he was denied boarding by a WestJet agent because they wouldn't accept his valid photo identification card. Lawrence Douglas Corbiere was travelling from Montreal to Winnipeg on June 30 when he showed his Indian status card as photo identification. The WestJet boarding agent said his ID had expired, even though Corbiere says the expiration date was February 2029. The agent instructed him to step aside and wait, and he missed his flight. He'd used the same card to travel from Winnipeg to Montreal just three days earlier. "She told me it was expired," Corbiere said. "It wasn't expired. She forgot to see on top of the card." An Indian status card is an official document issued by the Canadian government to First Nations people who are registered under the Indian Act. The card serves as proof of identity and legal Canadian identification, and can be used as ID for domestic flights. Corbiere said the agent refused to reconsider his request to examine the card, and that's when he called his friend David Harper. Harper, who earlier had assisted Corbiere with his check-in, said he was on the phone with Corbiere and listened to what the agent said — adding it was unacceptable. "That lady was very rude right off the bat," Harper said. "You could just tell the tone and the way she was talking to Doug." Harper said despite repeated attempts to communicate with the agent, she remained unresponsive. "I said, 'What are we going to do now? Are you going to help him out?' She said no, he's going to wait till tomorrow or whatever he has to do. The agent totally ignored him." Harper said he was then on the phone for 2½ hours, talking to WestJet customer service, and they didn't even know what an Indian status card was. They started asking if Corbiere was from India. "That's totally ignorant of how WestJet does not teach their staff how cultural sensitivity should be at the forefront of this company," Harper said. Harper said eventually WestJet rebooked Corbiere on a flight the next day and put him up in a hotel. Corbiere had an urgent medical matter requiring his immediate return to Winnipeg and was in need of his medications, Harper said. Also, he says despite writing a note that Corbiere needed wheelchair assistance for the flight, he did not get it. Harper wants systemic change. "We don't want anybody going through that same ordeal which he went through," he said. "We are basically looking for an apology for him and we are looking for better services from WestJet, especially in terms of cultural sensitivity.… They didn't even know what Indian status card is. It's a federally regulated card." The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs called the incident heartbreaking. "First Nations elders carry sacred knowledge and deserve the utmost respect, not to be humiliated or mistreated by corporate institutions. It's 2025 — there is no excuse for this kind of systemic racism to still be taking place," AMC Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said in a statement. She demanded WestJet's executive leadership publicly acknowledge the incident and issue a direct apology to Corbiere. She wants cultural safety training implemented for all staff, and asks them to work in partnership with First Nations leadership to develop long-term commitments toward reconciliation. Elder still shaken "Too often our people face discrimination when travelling, seeking services or simply living their lives. This must stop. It's time for WestJet to demonstrate accountability and uphold the values they claim to represent," Wilson said. Corbiere is still shaken. "I am kind of upset," he said. "I had a fear because I didn't know anybody in Montreal and where to stay.… It was a rough time. I survived." He plans to change airlines. In an email to CBC, WestJet offered an apology to Corbiere for the inconvenience. The company said it will contact him directly to learn more about this experience.
CTV News
27-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs concerned about passing of Bill C-5
CTV News political commentator Tom Mulcair reacts to the passage of Bill C-5 through the Senate, saying he's not surprised there were no amendments to the bill. A First Nations organization in Manitoba is concerned about the speedy passage of federal legislation. Bill C-5, also known as the Building Canada Act, became law on Thursday. The act is controversial as it gives Ottawa the power to fast-track projects meant to boost the national economy, allowing them to sidestep environmental protections and other legislation. The bill has been praised by business groups, such as the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, who believe it will help boost Canada's economy. Multiple Indigenous groups have criticized the bill in the leadup, saying their concerns were not addressed in the discussion of the bill, and it was fast-tracked. Grand Chief Kyra Wilson of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, said the bill doesn't respect First Nations' laws or jurisdiction. 'First Nations are not stakeholders – we are sovereign Nations with inherent rights and sacred agreements with the Crown,' Wilson said in a statement. 'This legislation shows exactly how structural inequities are embedded into the development of Canada's legislative and economic policies when First Nations are excluded from the process.' Wilson added that First Nations in Manitoba are not opposed to projects that boost the economy but are opposed to 'compressed timelines and federal overreach.' -With files from The Canadian Press
CTV News
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Winnipeggers celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day at The Forks
The Forks honoured National Indigenous Peoples Day in Winnipeg on June 21, 2025. (Zach Kitchen/CTV News Winnipeg) The Forks marked National Indigenous Peoples Day on Saturday with a wide range of events and activities. The event, a collaboration with the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba (TRCM), the honoured the cultures, histories, and contributions of Indigenous people. Events included a bannock breakfast, Kookum fashion show, and Indigenous handmade market. In addition, the Píhtikwé Skatepark accepted donations for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs for wildfire support. 'We're celebrating all Manitobans both today and through the next couple of days as well,' said Tineke Buiskool-Leeuwma, Communications and Marketing Advisor for The Forks. 'The Forks is an original meeting place for over 6,000 years, so people have been gathering here forever, and it's just a great place to bring people together from all over Manitoba,' Buiskool-Leeuwma said. Saturday's events ran from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with additional programming on Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. The two-day event is part of The Forks 11-day celebration of 'Many Nations, One Heartbeat', connecting National Indigenous Peoples Day and Canada Day. Each day features free, family-friendly programming to celebrate parties to the treaties and those who live on treaty land today. There are several other National Indigenous Peoples Day events happening throughout Manitoba this weekend including a day-long celebration at Assiniboine Park on Sunday.
Winnipeg Free Press
16-06-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Graduates far from home ‘grateful' for honour at school powwow
After being displaced for more than two weeks, Jonah Wavey found some hope in a Winnipeg graduation ceremony — and he's holding onto it until he can celebrate with his classmates back home. The Grade 12 Tataskweyak Cree Nation student was among several wildfire evacuees honoured Monday during a special celebration of Indigenous graduates at the University of Winnipeg's Duckworth Centre. The event, typically part of the Winnipeg School Division's annual outdoor powwow that draws more than 10,000 Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, was postponed last week due to poor air quality from wildfires in northern Manitoba. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Jonah Wavey, a grade 12 graduate from Tataskweyak Cree Nation, with his mom, Abbie Garson-Wavey, at the special graduation ceremony held by Winnipeg School Division in partnership with Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, for graduates from northern Manitoba communities evacuated due to wildfires. 'I'm grateful that they are doing this for us,' Wavey said, adding that he hasn't been in class since the wildfires around Tataskewyak forced 2,400 residents from their homes. 'I'm glad that I am part of this.' Wavey's mother, Abbie Garson-Wavey, a band councillor in Tataskewyak, said she was thrilled to get the invite. 'I totally appreciated it,' she said. 'We have (four) of our graduates (in Winnipeg), but unfortunately, a lot of them are separated because of the evacuation. '(My son) is so excited. We're so proud of him and all of the work he's done.' Garson-Wavey said the evacuation has taken a toll on the entire community, especially youth. 'I know the displacement has caused us all to split up into different communities, different cities,' she said. 'There's been a lot of mental health issues because of the separation and the displacement. We've been just trying to remind them, to ground them, that we're there for them and we support them.' Monday's smaller indoor event drew dozens of people and featured a grand entry, honour song, a prayer and teaching from divisional Kookum Marsha Missyabit, and a friendship dance that brought nearly everyone to the gymnasium floor, hand in hand and smiling. WSD partnered with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs to invite graduates affected by the wildfires. 'We express heartfelt gratitude to Winnipeg School Division for their generous and compassionate gesture in extending an invitation to Grade 12 graduates who have been evacuated from their home communities due to the wildfires,' said Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Acting Grand Chief Gordon Bluesky in a release. 'This meaningful act ensures that these students are recognized and celebrated for their achievements despite the challenges they have faced. It is a powerful example of community solidarity and support for First Nations youth during a time of uncertainty.' Rob Riel, assistant superintendent of Indigenous education, said the division wanted to show they care during this difficult time. 'We've also opened the door for them, if they're still in Winnipeg, to walk the stage at any of our graduations next week,' Riel said. 'Every school said they would welcome it. 'It's an important time that you have to acknowledge, so we just want to ensure they got that experience.' For Keanu Kirkness, another Grade 12 student from Tataskweyak, the ceremony marked a special milestone. 'It's a great achievement, a bookmark in my life, and getting to do it with the people with me here,' he said, alongside his parents and cousins. 'It means a lot.' Kirkness and his family have been staying with his aunt in Winnipeg since being evacuated. 'It's been all right, having fun walking around (the city),' he said. 'But I miss (home) and being in class, it's my last year.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. He hopes the wildfires don't take away the chance to celebrate graduation back home. 'The photos, the people you're graduating with, you can always come back and look at them,' he said. Matt Henderson, superintendent of schools and CEO of the Winnipeg School Division, said the ceremony was a small but meaningful gesture. 'This was a way to honour WSD grads, and at the same time, give students an opportunity that may not get to walk across their stage, and a show of solidarity,' Henderson said. 'Kids are kids, and they want to be with each other, and that was the least we could do as a school division.' Scott BilleckReporter Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade's worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. Read more about Scott. Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
13-06-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sex charges stayed against chief after child testifies she lied
Child sex abuse charges have been stayed against a Manitoba chief after the young alleged victim admitted in court Friday she lied when she told police the man had taken cellphone pictures of her vagina. 'I have my life back,' Lake St. Martin First Nation Chief Christopher Traverse said outside court, minutes after prosecutor Boyd McGill stayed charges of sexual assault, possessing and creating child pornography and sexual interference. Traverse, 41, said his life was turned upside down after he was arrested in February 2024. His bail order prohibited him from talking to or seeing his kids, he had to sell his house, was removed from the boards of the Interlake Reserves Tribal Council and Anishinaabe Child and Family Services and banned from attending Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs events. Child sex abuse charges have been stayed against Lake St. Martin First Nation Chief Christopher Traverse after the young alleged victim admitted in court Friday she lied when she told police the man had taken cellphone pictures of her. 'The whole process was very difficult… and I stopped being there for my community,' Traverse said. 'This is worse than murder, to accuse an individual of touching a girl like that,' he said. 'That's the worst kind of charge you could (face) and I endured that pain for over a year and a half, being called names and all that.' Traverse said he expects to resume his regular duties as chief immediately. He's also hoping for an apology from the Indigenous groups that turned their backs on him. 'They put me down,' he said. 'Now they are going to know I didn't do this kind of stuff.' Traverse was accused of sexually assaulting the girl in December 2023, when she was eight years old. In an interview video played for court last April, the girl said she was watching television when Traverse put her over his shoulder and carried her to the bathroom 'like someone was kidnapped' and told her to pull down her pants (she amended her statement in court, saying Traverse pulled her by the hand to the bathroom). The girl said Traverse told her to pull her pants down. When she didn't comply, Traverse pulled her pants down himself and touched her vagina before taking a picture of her exposed body on his cellphone. The girl said Traverse deleted the picture, and then used her cellphone to take another picture, which he 'forgot' to delete. She claimed Traverse told her not to tell anyone about what had happened. 'I shut my mouth,' she said. 'I thought I would get in big trouble if I told.' The girl said her mother later discovered the picture on her cellphone. 'She was like: 'Who did this to you?' I said Chris.' During cross examination Friday, the girl said around the same time period she had taken a picture of herself using the toilet, which was later discovered by her mother, who told her not to do it again. The girl admitted she then lied to her mother, telling her she took the picture 'by accident.' During subsequent questioning, the girl admitted she took the second picture of her vagina and after her mother discovered it, she blamed Traverse. 'I just got scared,' the girl testified. 'So, Chris didn't take the photo?' Olson asked the girl. 'No,' she said quietly. 'You thought you were going to get in trouble with your mom, didn't you?' Olson said. 'Yes,' the girl replied. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. The trial before provincial court Judge Stacy Cawley was held over two days, two months apart, and was marked by angry outbursts between the alleged victim's family and Traverse and his supporters. A second day of testimony set for April had to be adjourned after Traverse was assaulted as he arrived outside court. Police confirmed Friday a man in his 40s and a man in his 50s have been charged with one count each of assault. Their names have not been released so as to protect the identity of the child witness in the case. When the trial resumed Friday, Sheriff's officers were stationed outside the courtroom and sat in the small court gallery separating the two families. Sheriff's officers escorted Traverse and his family as they left court. Dean PritchardCourts reporter Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean. Every piece of reporting Dean produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
