APTN News InFocus

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...

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens is joined by Karyn Pugliese, APTN's senior online reporter and host of Nation to Nation, and Dennis Ward, host of APTN National News and Face to Face, for a year in review. We break down the biggest stories of the year, from Justin Trudeau's resignation and the evolving Liberal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney to the appointment...

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...

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens looks at the debate over the second-generation cut-off in the Indian Act. The Senate's Indigenous Affairs committee is reviewing Bill S-2, proposed legislation from the government that ends some discrimination against women in the Indian Act - but not all.  The committee also wants to add an amendment to end what is called the second-genera...

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens speaks with Canada's outgoing Correctional Investigator, Ivan Zinger, about why he's leaving the job early after eight years. In his final annual report, he called for an overhaul of mental health services in federal corrections, arguing that they're ill-equipped to provide long-term care. The minister of Public Safety and the commissioner...

On this episode of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens takes a closer look at the B.C. court decision that recognized Aboriginal title rights for Cowichan Tribes and the misinformation that followed. Some residents of Richmond, B.C., now fear they'll lose their homes, despite clear public statements from Cowichan leadership that private landowners are not being targeted. Vancouver-based lawyer...

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens breaks down what Budget 2025 means for First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Prime Minister Mark Carney has called it a "generational budget" – a bold, nearly $90-billion in new spending plan he says charts a new path forward for Canada. But what makes this budget bold? And who does it leave behind? Joining the show is Nation to Nation ho...

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens explores how Canada's proposed bail reform bill is stirring debate. Justice Minister Sean Fraser says the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act is meant to restore public confidence in a system he admits is no longer working for many Canadians. But critics warn the bill could do more harm than good. Among them is Sen. Kim Pate, who has spent over...

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens examines why the Trump administration is attempting to erase Indigenous Peoples from U.S. history. On Oct. 9, former president Donald Trump signed a proclamation restoring Columbus Day, calling the explorer "a true American hero" and suggesting that "every citizen is eternally indebted to his relentless determination". To dig into the impli...

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens explores why food insecurity in Nunavut has hit a breaking point. In a territory where climate change and inflation are making food more expensive and harder to access, many families struggle to put healthy meals on the table. For some, even country foods like seal and caribou are out of reach. A pediatrician working in the community says N...

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens looks at a new law in Nova Scotia that could threaten Mi'kmaq treaty rights. Land protectors at Hunters Mountain in Unama'ki have prevented logging and construction for more than a month. But the Protecting Nova Scotians Act could give the province power to remove their checkpoint and jail those who refuse to leave. APTN video journalist An...

This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens examines the growing threat of residential school denialism in Canada. Once confined to the internet's fringes, denialism has entered the mainstream with public speeches, book deals and online followings that continue to grow. Some deny the racist and genocidal legacy of residential schools, others call unmarked grave findings a hoax. Survivors l...

As summer winds down - hosts, producers and reporters at APTN News are ramping up. On this edition of APTN News InFocus, we get a first look at what's coming up this season from three of our award-winning shows: Face to Face, Investigates and Nation to Nation. Face to Face Host Dennis Ward joins us to talk about the upcoming 300-episode milestone and what he's got planned for the season opener on...

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens explores one Red River Métis family's mission to help save the Michif language. Grant, Ben and Aynsley Anderson are the creators of Save Michif, a project developed through funding from Heritage Canada and the Manitoba Métis Federation. The father, son and daughter trio from Manitoba are using digital tools and Elder-led recordings to help...

On this edition of APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens looks at the record number of Indigenous films featured at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, also known as TIFF. Among the eight Indigenous films premiering this year is Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising, a documentary from Shane Belcourt and Tanya Talaga on the 1974 occupation of Anicinabe Park. Also featured is Nika and Madison...

This week on APTN News InFocus, guest host Jesse Andrushko speaks with Ottawa correspondent Karyn Pugliese about what came out of the Assembly of First Nations Annual General Assembly in Winnipeg. National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak opened the gathering with concerns about the One Canadian Economy Act, the law Ottawa says will fast-track projects in the national interest. Chiefs also debated ch...

This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens continues her conversation with veteran journalist and outgoing APTN web reporter Kathleen Martens. With more than 35 years in the industry, Kathleen reflects on the lessons she's learned like what it takes to build trust with sources and adapt in a fast-changing media landscape. She also shares insights for emerging journalists navigating the pr...

This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens sits down with veteran journalist and APTN web reporter Kathleen Martens. When Kathleen joined APTN 15 years ago as a writer and researcher, she already had two decades of newsroom experience. But as a non-Indigenous journalist working for an Indigenous news outlet, she says the role reshaped her understanding of truth, trust and storytelling. Fr...

This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens takes a closer look at the wildfires reshaping summers across the country. For the four Island Lake First Nations in northern Manitoba, 2025 has been a season of evacuations, loss and displacement. Anisininew Okimawin Grand Chief Alex McDougall joins us from Garden Hill First Nation to share how fires have uprooted communities and why leaders are...

This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens takes you behind the scenes of APTN's exclusive interview with Prime Minister Mark Carney. Carney recently joined hundreds of First Nations leaders in Gatineau, Que., for a summit on Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act. The new law promises to fast-track development projects, but critics warn it could sideline Indigenous rights and environment...

This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens sits down with Dylan Cloud, a former APTN News intern and recent media grad, to talk about his healing journey and growth as a storyteller. Cloud, who joins us from Long Plain First Nation, shares how he went from incarceration and addiction to sobriety, reconnecting with his culture, enrolling in college and building a future for himself and his...

This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens is joined by Mohawk activist, artist and filmmaker Ellen Gabriel. During the 1990 siege at Kanehsatà:ke, Gabriel was chosen by the People of the Longhouse to speak for the community during a 78-day standoff with the Canadian military. Thirty-five years later she continues to speak out, not only for her own people, but for others facing colonizati...

This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens digs into the growing push from provinces to fast-track major infrastructure projects, even if it means sidelining environmental protections and Indigenous rights. Ontario and Alberta have signed a new agreement aimed at building more pipelines and rail lines, calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to scrap legislation they say stands in the way....

This week on APTN News InFocus, host Cierra Bettens revisits Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, which became law on June 26. The legislation promises to remove interprovincial trade barriers and fast-track development projects deemed to be in the national interest. But critics say that promise comes at a steep cost. Indigenous leaders across the country have raised serious concerns that Bill...

This week on APTN News InFocus, guest host Mark Blackburn looks at what it means to live in the shadow of heavy industry. Factories and refineries are a familiar sight along roads and highways. They make the products we use every day. But for people living nearby, they are more than just part of the view. In places known as 'sacrifice zones', chemical leaks, strong odours and long-term health risk...