Five stories in the news for Thursday, Jan. 10
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INDIGENOUS PEOPLE VOICE ANGER AT TRUDEAU TOWN HALL
Indigenous people voiced their anger and frustration with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday at a town hall in Kamloops, B.C., loudly interrupting him to condemn the arrests of protesters at a pipeline blockade on Monday. Trudeau told the town hall that Canada has mistreated First Nations for generations, but he’s working toward reconciliation and met with Indigenous leaders to discuss self-governance on Tuesday. Speaking earlier to supporters at a Liberal fundraiser Trudeau touted the benefits of the planned 40-billion dollar LNG project in Kitimat, B.C., that’s at the centre of the impasse with First Nations.
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WET’SUWET’EN STRIKE TENTATIVE DEAL WITH RCMP
Hereditary leaders of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation have reached a tentative deal with RCMP, quelling some fears of escalation after police made several arrests at nearby checkpoint earlier this week. The chiefs say members will abide by a court injunction granting the Coastal GasLink pipeline company access to a bridge that had been blocked, if RCMP agree to leave intact the nearby Unist’ot’en healing camp in northern British Columbia. They plan to meet with RCMP again Thursday to discuss details such as retaining a gate that residents and supporters of the camp say is vital to their safety.
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BAND COUNCILS, HEREDITARY CHIEFS PLAY DISTINCT GOVERNANCE ROLES: EXPERT
Canadians are getting a crash course on the differences between non-elected hereditary chiefs and band councils elected by First Nations as RCMP arrests at a blockade in northern British Columbia launched pipeline protests across the country this week. Fourteen people were arrested Monday on the traditional territory of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation. The Wet’suwet’en conflict highlights the machinations of Indigenous political and legal systems, where both the elected council and hereditary chiefs speak for their communities.
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CANADIAN CAN’T SEE FATHER IN CHINESE PRISON
Ti-Anna Wang was one passport stamp away from seeing her imprisoned father in a Chinese prison before her dream was shattered yet again. On Wednesday, the Montreal woman arrived in southern China where her father, Wang Bingzhang — considered the father of China’s ill-fated international pro-democracy movement — has been jailed since Chinese agents snatched him in Vietnam in 2002 and hauled him back to the People’s Republic. Her 11-month-old daughter was strapped into her papoose-style body carrier and her husband was by her side. Wang’s passport contained a fresh Chinese visa, something she had been denied for 10 years. But it wasn’t enough.
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INJURED BRONCOS PLAYER SKATES FOR FIRST TIME
When Layne Matechuk came out of a month-long coma after the Humboldt Broncos bus crash he had to learn how to walk and talk again. Matechuk, 18, hit another major milestone this week — he got back on the ice. Matechuk was one of 13 people injured in April when a transport truck and the bus carrying his junior hockey team collided at a rural intersection in Saskatchewan. The crash killed 16 people, including 10 of his teammates. His father, Kevin, has posted an online video of his son skating while pushing a hockey net and another of him shooting a puck.
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ALSO IN THE NEWS:
— Re-trial in Stof Dennis Oland on charge of second-degree murder in the death of his father Richard continues.
— Halifax re-trial is scheduled for former taxi driver Bassam Al-Rawi, accused of sexually assaulting a female passenger.
— Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau will make an important announcement regarding gender equality in Montreal.
— In Toronto federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna will announce support for climate action and energy efficiency in Ontario.
— Alberta Premier Rachel Notley visits petrochemical project in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.
— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Regina on town hall tour.
— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tours new Industrial training and technology centre in Kamloops, B.C.
The Canadian Press
