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C-37 (45-1) - First Nations Clean Water Act
Source: Parliament of Canada (LEGISinfo)
Date: 2026-10-09 13:20:48.0
Tags: [National, Indigenous, Infrastructure, Environment, Governance]Bill C-37, titled the First Nations Clean Water Act and introduced by the Minister of Indigenous Services, has completed second reading and was referred to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs (INAN) on October 9, 2026. The legislation establishes a comprehensive federal framework regarding water, source water, drinking water, wastewater, and related infrastructure on First Nation lands. The bill builds upon previous class-action litigation settlements concerning safe drinking water in First Nations communities and is accompanied by a historic funding commitment and a departmental Charter Statement tabled on September 25, 2026.
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Alberta First Nation taking Ottawa to court over West Coast pipeline
Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-10-09 00:20:48.0
Tags: [Alberta, National, Indigenous, Energy, Environment, Infrastructure]Cold Lake First Nations has filed an application in Federal Court challenging the federal and provincial decision to designate the $35 billion to $43 billion Pacific Link oil pipeline project as being in the national interest. The proposed pipeline, backed by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, would transport up to one million barrels of crude a day from Bruderheim, Alberta, to Delta, British Columbia, while incorporating the Pathways Project carbon capture network near Cold Lake. Chief Kelsey Jacko argues that Ottawa breached Canadian law by failing to consult the community meaningfully regarding the pipeline designation and the underground carbon storage risks on their traditional territory.
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Indigenous, local leaders optimistic about new pipeline despite “host of issues” Carney says Federal government is yet to address
Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-10-05 16:03:04.0
Tags: [National, Alberta, British Columbia, Energy, Infrastructure, Environment, Indigenous]Prime Minister Mark Carney, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, and Pembina Pipeline Corp. CEO Scott Burrows announced that the Pacific Link Pipeline (formerly West Coast Oil Pipeline) has been officially listed as a project of national interest under the Building Canada Act. The project aims to export an additional one million barrels of Albertan oil per day to Asian markets, generate over $20 billion annually in GDP, create 140,000 jobs, and provide a 10 per cent ownership stake to Indigenous communities in British Columbia and Alberta through an accelerated single federal regulatory review process. However, the initiative faces ongoing concerns from local Indigenous groups—including Fort McKay First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation, and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation—regarding unresolved legacy issues, carbon capture and storage technologies like the Pathways Project, mine water release, and effluents regulations tied to a trilateral memorandum of understanding aiming to double regional oil production to eight million barrels per day within a decade.
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Separatist, environment, and some First Nation groups speak out against new Alberta-B.C. pipeline
Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-10-02 20:03:56.0
Tags: [National, Alberta, British Columbia, Infrastructure, Energy, Environment, Indigenous]Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that the Pacific Link pipeline, proposed by Pembina Pipeline Corporation, has been designated a project of national interest, allowing it to be fast-tracked through Ottawa's major projects office with construction potentially starting in September. The pipeline faces strong opposition from Alberta separatists like Let Alberta Decide over public financing and timing, B.C. and Alberta First Nations including Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation and the Union of B.C. Indigenous Chiefs over lack of consultation and environmental impacts, and environmental groups like the Pembina Institute and Ecojustice over increased greenhouse gas emissions and risks to the Salish Sea.
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Proposed dam near Iqaluit could have 'adverse impacts,' QIA admits in board filing
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-28 20:27:44.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Infrastructure, Environment, Indigenous]The Qikiqtani Inuit Association and its subsidiary, the Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation, have acknowledged in a regulatory filing to the Nunavut Impact Review Board that the proposed $500 million Iqaluit hydroelectric project could cause significant adverse impacts on the environment, wildlife, and Inuit livelihoods. The project, planned along the Kuugaluk River approximately 60 kilometres northeast of Iqaluit, would entail constructing a dam and powerhouse capable of generating 15 megawatts of electricity for 100 years. According to the project proposal, the development would flood 73 square kilometres of land, raising ongoing concerns from regional leaders and community members in Pangnirtung regarding impacts on fish, caribou, traditional harvesting, and travel safety.
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Wind turbine going up a ‘big moment’ in Sanikiluaq, Nunavut
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-28 17:11:14.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Infrastructure, Environment, Climate, Indigenous]The Inuit-owned clean energy developer Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation (NNC) has installed a 1-megawatt wind turbine and 1-megawatt battery storage system as part of the $30 million Anuriqjuak Nukkiksautiit Project in Sanikiluaq, Nunavut. The project is expected to displace at least 50 per cent—or approximately 600,000 litres—of the community's diesel usage annually and will sell power to the Qulliq Energy Corporation (QEC) at about 27 cents per kilowatt-hour under an energy purchase agreement signed in 2023. Funding for the initiative includes $16.7 million from Natural Resources Canada, $7 million from the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, and a $6.7 million loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank, with 20 per cent of project profits directed into a local community enhancement fund.
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As sea ice vanishes, Tuktoyaktuk’s shoreline defences buy crucial time against Arctic surges
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-21 10:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Infrastructure, Climate, Environment, Emergency, Indigenous]The hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk avoided structural damage during a Beaufort Sea storm surge due to a $54 million shoreline revetment project completed in July 2025 using the federal Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF). While existing boulder defenses protected the harbour, disappearing sea ice and warming ocean temperatures continue to accelerate coastal erosion and permafrost thaw. To secure long-term protection for critical infrastructure like the airport and fresh water reservoir, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation submitted a joint funding application for Tuktoyaktuk, Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk, and Ulukhaktok under review as of spring 2026. The community ultimately plans to relocate to safer ground on Inuvialuit lands while exploring nature-based shoreline reinforcement in the interim.
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First Nation opens work camp at Faro mine cleanup project in Yukon
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-18 20:54:45.0
Tags: [National, Mining, Environment, Indigenous, Infrastructure, Resources]The Dena Nezziddi Development Corporation, owned by the Ross River Dena Council, has opened the Tsē Zūl work camp at the abandoned Faro mine site in central Yukon to house workers for a massive federal remediation project. Located 200 kilometres northeast of Whitehorse, the facility is designed to accommodate nearly 300 workers and provide long-term revenue and employment opportunities for the First Nation. The Faro mine complex, which operated for nearly 30 years as a lead-zinc mine before its bankruptcy and abandonment in 1998, represents one of Canada's most complex industrial cleanup sites, expected to take decades to complete.
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Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, expecting system upgrades after months of water woes
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-14 12:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Infrastructure, Environment, Indigenous]The Government of Nunavut's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure is planning water system upgrades across 14 communities as part of its $610-million Drinking Water Strategy Framework, backed by more than $400 million in committed funds. In the hamlet of Gjoa Haven, which recently endured an eight-month boil water advisory and a local state of emergency due to a leaking water line, potential upgrades include a new water treatment plant, transmission line, and pumphouse designed to serve the community until the end of the century. Meanwhile, Canada's Auditor General is scheduled to release an audit report in 2027 examining how Nunavut manages drinking water, following findings that only 8 out of 25 territorial water treatment plants passed health and safety tests in 2024.
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Residents worry Tsiigehtchic is not prepared for impacts of Mackenzie Valley Highway
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-10 21:30:20.0
Tags: [National, Infrastructure, Transportation, Environment, Public Safety, Indigenous]Residents of Tsiigehtchic, Northwest Territories, voiced concerns during Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board consultations regarding the $405-million federal investment to advance the Mackenzie Valley Highway. The project scope includes an environmental assessment expansion covering the corridor connecting Norman Wells to the Dempster Highway in Inuvik. Residents worry the route bypasses their community of approximately 180 people while potentially increasing environmental degradation to land and water, and raising access to illicit substances without corresponding local emergency services, such as a dedicated RCMP officer or local nurses.
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Yukon Energy settles on 2 sites for new power plants in Whitehorse area
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-04 20:56:58.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Infrastructure, Environment, Indigenous]Yukon Energy Corp. has selected two sites for new thermal power plants designed to burn diesel or liquefied natural gas to address power deficits and avoid rolling blackouts in Whitehorse. The proposed $100 million-plus project includes a 90-megawatt facility at Deep Creek on Ta’an Kwäch’än Council traditional territory and a 60-megawatt facility on the Copper Haul Road within city limits. Yukon Energy CEO Joe MacGillivray stated that the company will submit proposals to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) in the coming months, with construction targeted to begin in spring 2028.
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Funding boost to help Nunavut Arctic College build on research capability
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-08-31 16:46:05.0
Tags: [National, Education, Indigenous, Environment, Infrastructure]Nunavut Arctic College has been awarded $600,000 through ArcticNet's North-by-North Program—part of a broader federal $9.3 million investment funded by the federal government's Strategic Science Fund—to expand the research capabilities of the Nunavut Research Institute in Iqaluit through 2029. The funding will specifically support the development of parasite and DNA detection capabilities, upgrades to the college's online research licensing portal, and the creation of training modules for Nunavummiut and early-career scientists regarding ethical research practices. The Nunavut Research Institute operates as the sole facility in the territory conducting wildlife parasite testing, notably monitoring for trichinella in wildlife and mercury levels across the Arctic food web.
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