Marsha McLeod

"WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 1, 2025) – The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced today that it will begin an orderly wind-down of its operations"

cpb.org/pressroom/Co...

“In terms of harshness and the risk of harm to which they subject prisoners, (Manitoba facilities) rivalled anything I have observed in some of the worst solitary confinement units in the United States,” Haney wrote."

Class-action lawsuit shines a harsh spotlight on Manitoba's use of solitary confinement Widespread use of solitary confinement in Manitoba correctional facilities is the subject of a class-action lawsuit that is scheduled to go to trial in November.

“The conditions of confinement I encountered were stark and depriving — ranging from very bad to outright egregious — and the segregation practices the prisoners described being exposed to were truly severe and isolating,” [Dr. Craig] Haney wrote."

www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

"I believe companies — especially large ones like Rogers, Bell, and Amazon — should create dedicated bereavement support lines. These lines should be staffed with individuals trained not only in the necessary administrative procedures, but also in compassion and empathy."

– Gwen Falkingham

Opinion: Letters, July 28

"After the loss of my husband, I was thrust into a world I was unprepared for—not just emotionally, but administratively. Settling his estate became a series of painful and frustrating encounters with bureaucracy, indifference and inefficiency. "

www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/lett...

Winnipeg ‘feeder’ city for sex trafficking Report looks into link between Indigenous missing, murdered cases and posts on sex websites

A new report indicates Winnipeg has among the highest concentration of missing and murdered Indigenous women cases in Canada — suggesting Manitoba’s capital is a “feeder” city for sex trafficking operations in Edmonton and elsewhere.

April 8, 2019 Investigation continues into RCMP officer-involved shooting On April 6, 2019, at approximately 8:15 a.m., RCMP were advised of an Eckville, Alberta location where stolen oilfield property might be found. An RCMP officer responded to the reported location at the rear of a strip of businesses on the north side of Eckville. The officer found four vehicles at the location. As the officer was checking the vehicles, he located a man who appeared to be sleeping in a Ford F250 truck and made cursory observations of the interior of the vehicle. The officer returned to his police vehicle and checked the licence plate number, which came back registered to a different vehicle. The officer requested assistance to his location, placed a spike belt and returned to his police vehicle to await assistance. While the officer was waiting for assistance, a confrontation occurred that resulted in the officer discharging his service pistol. The man sustained a single gunshot wound that resulted in serious, but not life-threatening injuries. He was treated on scene by EMS, transported to hospital and admitted. He remains in hospital. The Ford F250 was determined to have been stolen approximately 5 days earlier from Saskatoon and the licence plate was also determined to have been stolen. With the investigation underway, ASIRT will not make any further comment until the matter is concluded.

Retired RCMP officer charged with aggravated assault July 29, 2025 Media inquiries On April 6, 2019, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was assigned by the Director of Law Enforcement to investigate an RCMP shooting causing injury in Eckville. ASIRT’s investigation showed that, during a stolen property investigation, an RCMP officer shot an occupant of a vehicle in the cheek. The evidence gathered during ASIRT’s investigation provided reasonable grounds to believe that an offence had been committed. As is required by the Police Act, the investigation was forwarded to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS) to determine whether the evidence met the standard for prosecution. Following a review of the investigation and having been advised that the ACPS was of the opinion that the evidence met its standard for prosecution, ASIRT Executive Director Michael Ewenson determined that the involved officer should be charged. On July 28, 2025, Geordie Erickson was charged with aggravated assault. He was released on an appearance notice and is scheduled for first appearance on Aug. 28 in the Red Deer Court of Justice. As this matter is now before the courts, no further information will be released. ASIRT’s mandate is to effectively, independently and objectively investigate incidents involving Alberta’s police that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct. ASIRT This release is distributed by the Government of Alberta on behalf of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team.

In April 2019, an RCMP officer found a guy sleeping in a stolen truck in rural Alberta and ended up shooting him in the face.

An investigation was launched.

Today, more than six years later, a charge of aggravated assault was announced against the officer, who has since retired.

Thanks for sharing the story.

"According to data kept in the Indian Register, Six Nations of the Grand River has 28870 individuals who are registered under the Indian Act...* 8713 individuals have a single entitled parent and are registered under 6(2)."

That's 30% of the registered population 👀
open.canada.ca/data/en/data....

I'd normally be out paddling all summer, but this year, I just can't bring myself to do it. There are so many places where my mum and I kayaked together. Growing up, I raced and trained in sprint kayaking for a decade and my mum took me to every race I was in. Paddling is just inextricable from her.

My mum and I took this trip to Prince Edward County exactly four years ago, as of this August long weekend. It's hard to believe that not that long ago, we were paddling together, staying up late watching TV, going out for dinner.

What I wouldn't give for just one more little weekend trip.

Indian Act's ‘second-generation cut-off’ poses an existential threat to treaty people in Canada Thanks to the Indian Act’s ‘second-generation cut-off,’ First Nations people face a baffling and offensive equation when it comes to their status rights.

“We want to determine who our members are. We, First Nations, not you,” Lou Moodie says. “We don’t want this category 6(1), 6(2). We’re not numbers — we’re human beings.”

From my story, in today's paper, about the second-generation cut-off. No paywall ⬇️

www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

Indian Act's ‘second-generation cut-off’ poses an existential threat to treaty people in Canada Thanks to the Indian Act’s ‘second-generation cut-off,’ First Nations people face a baffling and offensive equation when it comes to their status rights.

“We want to determine who our members are. We, First Nations, not you,” Lou Moodie says. “We don’t want this category 6(1), 6(2). We’re not numbers — we’re human beings.”

From my story, in today's paper, about the second-generation cut-off. No paywall ⬇️

www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

We have intentionally lifted our paywall for this story so that anyone can read it for free, without signing up or giving us any info, from any part of the country.

I'm glad you felt like it touched on the right issues

Indian Act's ‘second-generation cut-off’ poses an existential threat to treaty people in Canada Thanks to the Indian Act’s ‘second-generation cut-off,’ First Nations people face a baffling and offensive equation when it comes to their status rights.

‘We’re not numbers’ www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews... via @marshamcleod.bsky.social

Thanks for sharing 🙏

Israel trying to deflect blame for widespread starvation in Gaza Official and ministers either deny that Palestinians are being affected by hunger or say it is not Israel’s fault

"...officials and ministers in Israel have attempted to suggest that there is no hunger in Gaza, that if hunger exists it is not Israel’s fault, or to blame Hamas or the UN and aid organisations for problems with distribution of aid."

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

“The debate over who is — and who is not — a status Indian, I think, ignores the fundamental, or foundational question of when did Indigenous peoples, if ever, relinquish their jurisdiction over determining who is and who is not a citizen of their nation?”

We have intentionally lifted our paywall for this story so that anyone can read it for free, without signing up or giving us any info, from any part of the country.

Indian Act's ‘second-generation cut-off’ poses an existential threat to treaty people in Canada Thanks to the Indian Act’s ‘second-generation cut-off,’ First Nations people face a baffling and offensive equation when it comes to their status rights.

The "second-generation cut off" has been described as a genocide “in paper form;" as "an evil that threatens our very existence;" as an act of "retaliation;" as discrimination, and, as assimilation. Yet it remains a part of Canadian law. Why?

My latest ⬇️

www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

Celebration of Indigenous rights at border crossing event is 'trauma healing' | CBC News Every third Saturday of July for the past 98 years, Indigenous people have gathered on the Rainbow Bridge between Niagara Falls, NY and Niagara Falls, ON to reaffirm the tenets within the Jay Treaty, ...

Story by Candace Maracle ⬇️

www.cbc.ca/news/indigen...

AFP journalists at risk of starvation in Gaza, news agency says The SDJ union said that AFP still has "one freelance writer, three photographers, and six video freelancers" working in Gaza after most of its staff left the Strip last year.

“Along with a handful of others, they are some of the last Western journalists reporting on the ground in Gaza.”

No body is saying it's easy anywhere, but when I look across the border and see the work of local investigative non-profits in the U.S. like Wisconsin Watch, Investigative Post (where I used to work), The Baltimore Banner, THE CITY, and the Texas Tribune, I want to cry myself to sleep for a week.

It is ridiculous that important outlets like @therovermedia.bsky.social and @mediaindigena.bsky.social being excluded from the $100 million of Google money being distributed annually over the next five years, as decided by the Canadian Journalism Collective.

Why you won’t see IndigiNews among those sharing in the $100M Google news fund As the CJC hands out millions to ‘Canadian’ media under the federal Online News Act, our Indigenous newsroom is left behind

Sometimes it honestly feels like journalism policy in Canada has been engineered in a lab to prevent critical non-profit outlets from getting off the ground – and staying in flight.

indiginews.com/first-person...

therover.ca/editors-note...

Globe and Mail reporter targeted by online campaign, photographed surreptitiously in public settings An anonymous X account posted photos of Alberta reporter Carrie Tait and described her movements as she reported on a health authority controversy

Hi, yes, g'morning. This is awkward.

But targeting a reporter - hi! - with
surreptitiously obtained photos and details of her tooling around town is an attack on the public's right to know.

www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

I'm glad you were able to intervene. The 'desperate for a miracle' part definitely is such a huge factor.

Oh, that's a super hot tip!

It really, really is.