Author: news22
October 15, 2026 — Shoal Lake No. 40 First Nation, Treaty 3 Territory, Manitoba— Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
Today, Chief Herb Green of Shoal Lake No. 40 First Nation and the Honourable Rebecca Alty, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, announced a $17.45-million settlement agreement resolving Shoal Lake No. 40 First Nation’s specific claim.
Specific claims address situations where Canada failed to fulfil obligations owed to First Nations under a treaty. In this case, the claim relates to seven islands in Indian Bay, Shoal Lake, known as the Garden Islands, which were promised to Shoal Lake No. 40 First Nation under Treaty 3 but were never set aside as reserve land. This settlement provides compensation in resolution of the claim.
Settlements provide First Nations with funds that can be invested in community priorities, such as land purchases, infrastructure, and economic development. They can also create new opportunities that benefit First Nations and local and regional economies.
Settling specific claims is one way to address past harms, rebuild trust, and support reconciliation. This settlement agreement reflects continued efforts to build relationships with Indigenous Peoples based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership.
October 15, 2026 | Ottawa, Ontario | Health Canada
Canadians expect timely access to safe and effective drugs and medical devices. Health Canada is providing a quarterly update on the steps the department is taking to make its regulatory processes more modern and efficient, while maintaining high standards for safety, efficacy, and quality.
From July 1 to September 30, 2026, Health Canada has taken a number of steps to improve access to the drugs and medical devices Canadians need. The department has authorized 16 new prescription drugs and 33 generic and biosimilar drugs. During this period, Health Canada also approved 540 new medical devices.
A growing number of increasingly complex drug submissions is putting pressure on the drug review process. To address this, Health Canada is prioritizing the review of certain generic drug submissions to provide better access to medicines in Canada, prevent and minimize disruptions to Canada’s drug supply, and make the generic drug review system more sustainable in the long term.
To help Canadians access promising new treatments sooner, Health Canada is also moving forward with the first phase of its clinical trials modernization efforts. This includes :
- Supporting faster implementation of modernized clinical trial requirements ahead of new regulations, which will modernize Canada’s clinical trial framework and help attract more clinical research to Canada.
- Providing information on clinical trials approved by Health Canada through a new clinical trials portal, to help patients find information about clinical trials that may help them and help researchers, health care providers and other stakeholders access information about ongoing trials.
- Making it easier for researchers to conduct pediatric standard-of-care studies through a new pilot project. This could generate better evidence leading to improved treatment outcomes for children, who are often prescribed drugs intended for adults off label (i.e. outside of their indicated use).
Health Canada is also working to get more medicines approved for children and youth to Canadians faster. Under the proposed approach, review times would be reduced by up to 40%, from 300 days to 180 days. Health Canada is currently consulting on the proposed changes until October 23, 2026. The department has already begun implementing shortened review timelines and welcomes additional ideas and comments on how to continue to improve on these efforts.
Finally, Health Canada is launching a new pilot for Access Consortium work-sharing submissions that will provide more flexibility during the review process and prevent delays. This will result in stronger alignment between international regulators and help bring products to the Canadian market faster. The Access Consortium is a coalition of international regulatory authorities that work together to promote greater regulatory collaboration and alignment, including joint reviews of new drug submissions.
Together, these changes are creating a faster, more efficient regulatory system that is improving access to medicines while maintaining Canada’s high standards for safety, efficacy and quality.
WINNIPEG, October 15, 2026
Our government believes sport is our ultimate nation builder. A country that comes together through sport is a country united. That unity is on full display when Canadian athletes proudly wear the maple leaf on the world stage. The federal government is investing in Team Canada, strengthening the support athletes need to compete at the highest level.
Today at the Canadian Sport Centre Manitoba, a legacy of the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, the Honourable Adam van Koeverden, Secretary of State (Sport), announced more than $17 million in funding for the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network (COPSIN) in 2026-27, which includes an additional $5.4 million this year.
Behind every athlete is a team. This investment will enhance the support athletes receive, giving them greater access to physiology, nutrition, mental performance, sport medicine and expert coaching.
Today’s announcement is part of the $112 million in new Sport Support Program funding, which provides national-level sport organizations with additional mid-fiscal-year funding through a streamlined process. This investment will support safe sport and sport integrity measures, expand participation, enhance athlete development and strengthen high-performance programs across the country.
The Government of Canada is also providing more direct financial support to athletes. In July, the Secretary of State announced a $3-million annual increase to the Athlete Assistance Program, bringing its total yearly funding to $43 million. The increase raises the monthly allocations for senior carded athletes and extends benefits to more of them, particularly those in sports new to the Olympic and Paralympic programs, as well as guides for athletes with visual impairments. It also increases support for para athletes and athletes with children. From the training centre to the world stage, athletes will have more help to train, compete and reach their full potential.
These measures are part of the Government of Canada’s generational $1-billion investment in sport, the largest in our country’s history, to improve access to sport, continue hosting world-class events, upgrade stadiums, fields and community recreation facilities, and help athletes succeed from the playground to the podium.
October 15, 2026 – Winnipeg, Manitoba
Today, the Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Public Safety, announced $1.6 million in federal funding to the Joy Smith Foundation through the Youth Gang Prevention Fund (YGPF) to support a project that will help prevent violence, gang involvement and criminal activity among at-risk and incarcerated youth aged 12 to 30 in Manitoba and Alberta.
The project, Limitless Futures: Empowering Youth Against Crime, will help youth overcome challenges that can lead to crime and gang involvement while strengthening positive supports in their lives. Through workshops and other activities, participants will learn about the consequences of violence and gang involvement, build skills to make positive choices, and receive support to leave gangs or avoid them in the first place.
The project will deliver weekly trauma-informed workshops in youth detention centres, group homes, alternative schools and other community settings. Community partners will help recruit participants, support program delivery and ensure the workshops complement services already available to youth.
The YGPF supports initiatives that prevent youth from joining gangs, help those leaving gangs, and contribute to safer communities across Canada through Public Safety Canada’s National Crime Prevention Strategy. By investing in young people and addressing the factors that can lead to gang involvement and crime, projects like this help build safer communities and stronger futures for Canadians.
October 14, 2026, | Winnipeg, MB | Health Canada
Today, the Honourable Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health and the Honourable Uzoma Asagwara, Manitoba’s Minister of Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care, announced the Government of Canada’s intention to provide up to $6 million in federal funding over three years to expand family medicine Practice-Ready Assessment opportunities for international medical graduates (IMG) in Manitoba. This will bring more family doctors into the health care system to work in both emergency departments and clinics across Manitoba.
Recruiting and supporting IMGs is essential to help meet demand for family physicians in Manitoba. Through the proposed project, Manitoba Health would work with key partners to expand and improve its Practice Ready Assessment process to support IMGs seeking to practice in family medicine in Manitoba. The project is expected to result in up to 90 new family physicians ready to work in Manitoba by 2028-2029.
The proposed investment would provide additional support for candidates and better meet Manitoba’s health-care workforce needs, especially in rural and remote communities. The program would help strengthen family medicine and emergency department services and support more reliable access to care for Manitobans, closer to home.
This investment is part of the concrete, coordinated actions the Government of Canada and its partners are taking to strengthen and expand the health workforce, delivering more timely, reliable access to high-quality health care services for everyone in Canada.