APTN News InFocus

Talal Dakalbab was only named the commissioner of the Correctional Service in Canada in March but says he's already reaching out to communities to integrate them with prison programs to help rehabilitate inmates. Dakalbab, who takes over the position from Anne Kelly, joins guest host Mark Blackburn to talk about how he plans to revamp a prison system many see as outdated and unable to change. • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

The Quewezance sisters have spent decades fighting to clear their names after being convicted of a murder they say they did not commit. More than 30 years after their conviction and four years after their case was sent for review, they are still waiting for answers. On this episode of APTN News InFocus, guest host Leanne Sanders examines the lengthy delays facing people seeking justice after a wrongful conviction. Leanne speaks with Senator Kim Pate, Toronto Star investigative reporter Kevin Donovan, legal expert Kent Roach and Mi'kmaq lawyer Suzanne Patles. Read Leanne's story here: https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/still-waiting-quewezance-sisters-case-still-under-review-after-four-years/ • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens looks at calls to rewrite Canada's Cannabis Act. Former senator Dan Christmas told a House of Commons committee the law has failed to recognize First Nations jurisdiction and does not align with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. APTN News reporter Jesse Staniforth joins the show from Montreal to explain how the Cannabis Act is affecting Indigenous communities and what changes are being proposed. Read Jesse Staniforth's story here: https://www.aptnnews.ca/featured/amid-nova-scotia-raids-senators-hear-calls-for-indigenous-sovereignty-over-cannabis/ • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens looks at Canada's changing trade relationship with the United States. Prime Minister Mark Carney has warned about relying too heavily on the U.S., even as Ottawa works to maintain ties and expand trade elsewhere. Tabatha Bull is the president of the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business and a member of Carney's revamped economic advisory council. She joins the show to discuss the future of key agreements and what it means for Indigenous businesses. • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens examines Canada's push to build AI data centres in the name of sovereignty. The federal government is injecting over $2 billion for national AI infrastructure, while Bell has announced a 300-megawatt data centre near the Rural Municipality of Sherwood, Sask. As projects expand in proximity to Indigenous lands, questions remain about environmental impacts and whether Indigenous sovereignty is part of Canada's AI vision. Associate professor in the Department of Film and Media at Queen's University Mél Hogan and Animikii Indigenous Technology CEO Jeff Ward join the show to discuss what AI data centres could mean for Indigenous Peoples. • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

On this episode of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens examines the RCMP's decades-long surveillance of Indigenous Peoples. A CBC Investigates report reveals how the Native Extremism Program infiltrated Indigenous organizations and monitored leaders like George Manuel. Journalist Brett Forester joins the show to break down the investigation and what the findings reveal about state surveillance. • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

Protests are a familiar sight across the country and journalists are often there documenting what unfolds. But what happens when police ignore their credentials? On this episode of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens examines growing concerns around press freedom in Canada. Photojournalist Amber Bracken shares her arrest on Wet'suwet'en territory while covering an RCMP raid. The episode also features Indigenous journalist Brandi Morin, who reflects on reporting from the front lines and the risks journalists face. Sonya Fatah of the Canada Press Freedom Project breaks down national trends, while independent journalist Rachel Gilmore speaks about harassment and threats tied to her reporting. From reporting on the ground to backlash online, we're taking a look at the state of press freedom today in Canada. • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

Every winter, the Canadian Armed Forces runs Operation Nanook-Nunalivut, a military training exercise focused on Arctic defence. This year's operation was the largest to date. Up to 1,300 members were deployed across Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, alongside allies from the United States, Belgium, France and Denmark. The exercise has been running for nearly 20 years. But with rising geopolitical tensions, it is taking on new meaning. APTN video journalist Charlotte Morrit-Jacobs travelled to the training camp in Edzo, about 100 kilometres west of Yellowknife, for a two-part report from the ground. On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens speaks with Morrit-Jacobs about what she saw at Operation Nanook and how the Canadian Armed Forces are preparing for the North. • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

APTN Investigates is going behind the scenes of its latest documentary, War on the Land. Reported by APTN Investigates journalist Kenneth Jackson, the story focuses on a former explosives plant in Nobel, Ont., about 250 kilometres north of Toronto. The factory helped supply two world wars. But decades after closing in 1985, contamination concerns remain. Shawanaga First Nation is now calling on the prime minister to ensure the site is cleaned up. On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens speaks with Jackson about how he uncovered the story and whether the land can ever be reclaimed. War on the Land is available now at aptnnews.ca. • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

Indigenous activism has long shaped Minneapolis. In 1968, the American Indian Movement was founded there, marking a turning point in the fight for Indigenous rights. More than 50 years later, AIM members are back on the streets, responding to fears of racial profiling and unlawful detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE. On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens explores how Minneapolis' history of Indigenous activism connects to today's Native-led response to ICE. She is joined by Heather Bruegl, a public historian, activist and a citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. Clip courtesy Minnesota Historical Society | Storied 1968: American Indian Movement – Find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLh3gw0kVhQ • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens honours the life and legacy of Dan David, the father of APTN. David, a Mohawk journalist, spent 45 years transforming how Indigenous stories are told in Canada and around the world. From reporting for CBC and producing for TVOntario and VISION TV, to rebuilding newsrooms in South Africa, his work set the foundation for Indigenous journalism. In 2000, he co-launched InVision News, now APTN National News. On January 12, David passed into the spirit world at the age of 73 after living with cancer. To reflect on his life and impact, Cierra is joined by two of his close friends and former colleagues: APTN producer Bruce Spence and Nation-to-Nation host and senior online reporter Karyn Pugliese. Together, they share his vision for Indigenous media and the mark he leaves behind. • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

People in a small community in Nunavik are devastated after another shooting involving police in late December. But police shootings in the Inuit territory in northern Quebec are nothing new. Between 2016 and 2018, Nunavik police killed or seriously injured someone at a rate 55 times higher per capita than Montreal police. Some say part of the problem is that only three of the 155-person force are Inuit. On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens speaks with Tom Fennario, a correspondent with APTN Investigates, about the problems with the Nunavik Police Service. • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens looks at the state of child welfare in Nunavut and why advocates say the territory is falling behind. Child and youth representative Jane Bates has been raising the alarm for years. In her latest report she says the territory is making little progress in the areas most critical to keeping young people safe. She joins us to talk about what has to change and why she says Nunavut needs action not explanation. We also hear from the minister of Family Services on how she plans to address the concerns raised by Bates and the auditor general. Before that, APTN's Justin Hardy checks in from Iqaluit with a look at the new legislature and the work ahead for Premier John Main and his cabinet. • • • APTN National News, our stories told our way. Visit our website for more: https://aptnnews.ca Hear more APTN News podcasts: https://www.aptnnews.ca/podcasts/