There was a provincial election in Quebec this past week and a new free trade deal was negotiated between the U.S., Mexico and Canada — but our top news spot goes to the announcement about who will guide the new consultations with Indigenous groups over the Trans Mountain pipeline.

‘We will always do what it takes to protect what we love’

On Wednesday, the federal government announced it would ask retired Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci to redo the Trans Mountain pipeline consultations.

Our Ottawa reporter Jorge Barrera spoke with three chiefs from B.C. First Nations, including Tsleil-Waututh Chief Rueben George, who said his nation plans to come to the table armed with comprehensive environmental impact studies on the project.

Kahnawake’s Queen of Burlesque

Lauren Jiles, a.k.a. Lou Lou la Duchesse de Rière, took home the top prize from a recent burlesque festival in New Orleans.

Kanien’kehá:ka from Kahnawake, Que., she is the first Indigenous woman and first Canadian to win the title. Jessica Deer, our reporter in Montreal, spoke to Jiles about her groundbreaking win.

Indigenous hockey players pass it on

‘It’s always nice when you’re not the only First Nations person out there,’ says the Edmonton Oilers’ Ethan Bear. (THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Ethan Bear from Ochapowace First Nation in southern Saskatchewan will start the season with the Edmonton Oilers after he was called up to replace an injured Andrej Sekera.

This week, Kyle Muzyka in Edmonton took a look at how Indigenous players in professional hockey are helping clear a path for the up-and-comers.  

‘I remain open to any credible evidence’

Mark DeWolf wrote the Frontier Centre for Public Policy commentary that spawned a radio ad claiming to to debunk “myths” about the intergenerational impact of residential schools.

He told CBC Indigenous he was upset by how the ads had been perceived but that he stands behind his work. 

In brief

Quebec elected the right-of-centre party Coalition Avenir Québec to power on Monday, and the chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec and Labrador wasted no time reminding them of their promise to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Ghislain Picard, Quebec and Labrador regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations, says there is work ahead making sure the new Coalition Avenir Quebec government has a full understanding of Indigenous issues. (Catou MacKinnon/CBC)

Negotiations for the new USMCA trade agreement came down to the wire last weekend. Though an anticipated chapter about Indigenous Peoples didn’t come to pass, many still feel that when it comes to protecting Indigenous rights, the new deal is a step up from NAFTA.

The Pope has yet to make a formal apology for the Roman Catholic church’s role in residential schools, but two leaders in the Catholic church in Nova Scotia apologized to Mi’kmaq residential school survivors at a Treaty Day mass this week.

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