Overview

• Edmonton police said investigators have reason to believe 14-year-old Samuel Bird is dead and that his death is criminal, with suspects thought to have disposed of his body on land west of the city.
• Det. Jared Buhler described profound grief in Bird’s family and Indigenous communities and pointed to enduring inequities, while the teen’s mother urged people to remember her son beyond the headlines.
• A federal forensic audit reported more than $34 million in questionable, unsupported or ineligible spending tied to the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations over five years, including most of $30 million in COVID-19 funding.
• The FSIN responded that it maintains robust financial controls, says all COVID-19 funds were accounted for, attributes some issues to clerical errors later corrected, and says it has not received the full audit report from Indigenous Services Canada.
• At a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremony in Elsipogtog, Premier Susan Holt outlined steps toward recognition of rights, progress on title negotiations, education on provincial history, and work toward a First Nations health authority.