Innu Nation Grand Chief Jodie Ashini said Wednesday that something has to change if Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham wants better relations and natural resource projects on Innu land. The two met for nearly three hours in St. John's during a mining conference. Wakeham introduced a new Churchill River lead negotiator and agreed to visit Sheshatshiu in the coming weeks, which Ashini called a breakthrough. She still says Innu people feel a lack of respect, including recognition of their long history on the Labrador Peninsula. Wakeham said he wants to listen carefully to Innu concerns rather than debate timelines.
Newfoundland and Labrador has introduced civil forfeiture legislation that would let the province seize property linked to criminal activity, even when no one is convicted. Justice Minister Helen Conway Ottenheimer said the goal is to ensure crime does not pay. The province and Prince Edward Island are the only two without such a law. Cases would be heard in civil court, where the government must prove its claim on a balance of probabilities rather than beyond a reasonable doubt. Under current rules, $435,000 in cash found during a murder investigation into Kurt Churchill was eventually returned to him in 2025.
Some Indigenous people in Newfoundland and Labrador are cautiously backing Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew's call to abolish the 150-year-old Indian Act, which still defines who holds Indigenous status in Canada. At First Light in St. John's, knowledge sharing guide Kevin Coffey said the law should go, but only if First Nations lead the transition and keep the rights and benefits they now hold. Prime Minister Mark Carney said last month he shares Kinew's view, though he later noted a federal review may not necessarily end with abolition. Leaders recalled that Ottawa's 1969 White Paper attempt was rejected by Indigenous leaders.
