First Nations leaders in B.C. say Ottawa has agreed to match the provincial commitment to provide people on social assistance with an added $300 a month due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Funding for on-reserve income assistance flows from Indigenous Services Canada, while that money comes from the province for people who live off-reserve.  Cheryl Casimer, a member of the…

As community leaders around the world work to slow the spread of COVID-19, First Nations leaders in Ontario are doing everything they can to protect their people. There are particular concerns for remote communities, many of which lack access to basic services.  There have been confirmed cases First Nations ranging from the remote Eabametoong First Nation in northwestern Ontario, to…

Six Nations of the Grand River says one of its members has died from COVID-19. In a media release Wednesday evening officials said the community’s first death connected to the novel coronavirus comes less than two weeks after its first case was confirmed on March 28. “Given the increased risk of mortality within First Nations communities, we’ve…

Yukon’s chief medical officer has announced another confirmed case of COVID-19 in the territory — the first to be found in a rural community. In a news conference on Wednesday, Dr. Brendan Hanley called it a “new twist” in Yukon’s experience of the pandemic.  The latest case is the territory’s eighth. The first seven confirmed…

The number of positive cases of COVID-19 in Indigenous communities across the country has more than doubled since last week, according to Indigenous Services Canada (ISC). Last Thursday, ISC reported 15 cases. As of Monday, the department said it was aware of four cases reported in Saskatchewan, 11 in Ontario and 20 in Quebec but some Indigenous leaders…

Rod Maxwell’s frumpy clothes look like they’ve been worn for days, and that’s because they have. Maxwell arrived in Vancouver from Terrace, B.C., last month. But a series of mishaps, including losing his personal identification, has stranded him on the Downtown Eastside. Maxwell, 34, can’t prove his identity. And the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the suspension of some…