Category: Featured

The Ministère des Transports du Québec has announced another round of Mercier Bridge and corridor closures in effect tonight including: the 138 east at the height of the 207, that for work on the overhead signage. There will be a detour via the 107/221/A-30 exit starting at 11pm until 5am tomorrow, Wednesday. Expect a partial lane closure on the Montreal-bound Mercier Bridge between the superstructures and Lasalle, from 9pm until 5am tomorrow and a partial lane closure on the Kahnawà:ke-bound Mercier Bridge over the Seaway section from 9pm until 5am, Wednesday.

Animal Control Services is now scheduling appointments for the next series of Low-Cost Spay and Neuter Clinics for cats and dogs. All services are provided at a significantly reduced rate. There is a maximum of five (5) dog and five (5) cat procedures, each performed on the following dates: Wednesday, October 19th & 26^th; Wednesday, November 9th & 23^rd; and Wednesday, December 14^th. Animals will be transported to Timberlea Veterinary Clinic in Kirkland at an additional cost and pet owners are asked to provide their cages and carriers. A $20 annual Kahnawà:ke Animal Services Membership fee will apply for non-residents that provides access to all clinics throughout the year. If you require any more information on the clinic, and to make an appointment, you can reach Deidra Whyte of Animal Control Services at 450-632-0635, extension 53527.

KEPO, the GRAME and Nathalie Lasselin of Urban Water Odyssey will be co-hosting a clean-up event in Kahnawà:ke this coming Saturday. With the Kahnawà:ke Marina as the setting, the operation will launch at 10am until 2pm. Environmental Education Liason at KEPO is Julie Delisle on what is specifically happening:

“We’re going to have our partners and the Environment Protection Office at the Kahnawà:ke Marina on Saturday, October 15th, to do a shoreline clean-up and a clean-up in the waters.”

Walk-up volunteers are welcome on the day of the clean-up. Volunteers are advised to bring good closed-toe shoes, gloves, a water bottle and appropriate clothing depending on the weather. Delisle saying there’s much work they expect to face at the clean-up:

“I know that there’s a lot of debris in the waters we did a scouting of the waters last week with one of the divers and I think within the first 5 minutes we found a windshield to a car we found bottles in the water and I now along the shore there’s lots of cans, there’s lots of garbage, so there’s a lot to clean-up out there.

Cleaning equipment will be provided on site. Nathalie Lasselin will join with divers to clean up underwater while the rest of the volunteers will be working on the land portion. Divers who are interested in volunteering for the event can contact KEPO directly. Clean-up volunteers will have the chance to win an eco-friendly prize package worth over $100 simply for participating!  You can find more information on KEPO’s event page at facebook.com/kahnawakeenvironment.

Work to repair the concrete slab on the Mercier Bridge is scheduled for this weekend and will require the closure of the Kahnawà:ke-bound span from Friday night at 10pm until Saturday 9pm. One (1) lane will be available in either direction of the Montreal-bound side of the bridge. The Airlie entrance from Lasalle towards the 138 west/Kahnawà:ke will be closed

Ietsénhaienhs Tonya Perron was in Ottawa last evening in response to an invitation by the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples to appear as part of a panel of witnesses regarding the implementation of the federal Cannabis Act. Perron telling K1037 news:  “The Senate Standing Committee on Indigenous Peoples was very attentive to the issues the witnesses (speakers) were raising and was eager to hear what our priorities were in terms of legislative reform and recommendations to be made moving forward.”

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) is an epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in Canada, the United States, and Latin America; notably those in the FNIM (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) and Native American communities. October 4th marks MMIWG Day of Action. 2006 might seem as a date that is a long-time in the past, but for Melanie Morrison whose sister Tiffany went missing that year, later found murdered, every day is a painful reminder:

“Today is a day of honouring and raising awareness on the MMIWG issue here across Canada and in the United States and for me it’s personal because of my sister’s murder that happened back in 2006 and the fact that we are still fighting to get answers.”

Morrison knows that someone knows:

“Absolutely knowing that there are people out there, they know what happened and they’re not coming forward because I’m sure, growing up here, you know that nothing happens in this community without somebody knowing what happened. So, for her to be found, right here not far from her house in our community is unfathomable that this is still carrying on after 16 years.”

Marches and events were staged across the country today marking the MMIWG Day of Action.

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke has offered congratulations Kateri Champagne Jourdain on her election in yesterday’s provincial election, becoming the first Indigenous woman elected to the National Assembly. She has stated publicly that her Innu culture will help her in her work with Indigenous communities.  Ohén:ton Í:iente ne Ratitsénhaienhs Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer is confident that her heritage will be an asset to her and that, hopefully, as an Indigenous woman Member of the National Assembly, she will be able to inspire a greater understanding by the CAQ of the challenges faced by Indigenous peoples across the province, something that has been sorely lacking during the first term of the Legault government:

“I definitely know that women in politics have some level of influence and coming from that space, her culture, her heritage, her upbringing will definitely help shape the positions that she takes on different political initiatives and hopefully raise awareness and try to educate at the same time because a lot of these politicians really have no idea about Indigenous issues and what our reality has been, so if she can use that as a strength to push our issue forward, then we support that.”

Jourdain is from the Innu community of Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam easily defeated the Parti Quebecois candidate. The PQ had held the riding for 40 years.

Another night, another planned closure in the Mercier Bridge corridor. The Ministère des Transports du Québec informing the MCK that inspection work on the Montreal-bound Mercier Bridge will require a partial right lane closure in the area between both superstructures. The lane closure will take place tonight (Monday) from 9pm until 5am on Tuesday morning.

The first engagement session for the proposed Kahnawà:ke Tobacco Law will take place at the Golden Age Club this coming Wednesday, October 5th, from 12pm (noon) until 4pm. Although the draft law was entirely reviewed and consensus reached during the Community Decision Making Process (CDMP) hearings back in 2015/2016, there are several legal issues that need to be addressed in the sections of the draft law under review.  Ratsénhaienhs Cody Diabo, who is the lead on this file on behalf of the MCK says it’s time for interested residents to step forward to give their input on the proposed law. The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke is making the updated draft of the proposed law available to kickstart community engagement. This updated draft focuses solely on the highlighted sections of the draft law which can be viewed on the Kahnawà:ke Tobacco Law page on the KLCC website at www.kahnawakemakingdecisions.com. Another engagement session is scheduled for Wednesday, October 26th, from 3pm to 6pm. at the Golden Age Club