mersion school,” Brock said of Six Nations. “I have advocated for funding at numerous levels.”
Conservative incumbent Larry Brock retained his seat in the federal Brantford-Brant-Six Nations riding in what turned out to be a tight race Monday with Liberal opponent Joy O’Donnell in the traditionally Conservative stronghold.
Brock, a former Crown attorney and advocate for Six Nations in Ottawa, got 52 percent of the vote in the riding during the 2025 federal election, with the last polling station reporting all votes counted by 4 p.m. Tuesday.
The member of parliament has badgered the federal government for years to help pay for Six Nations’ private language immersion school Kawennio/Gaweniyo before Six Nations of the Grand River Elected Council finally decided in summer 2024 to pay for the school’s construction itself.”
“I have been a proud proponent of your im-
Brock has been the riding’s MP for the last four years.
His closest opponent was Joy O’Donnell, who got 41.08 percent of the vote.
Brock has worked with six nations staff, and politicians over the years.
“You need a federal government that listens to you, not dictates to you,” he said.
He also said Six Nations needs a government that doesn’t view potable water as a luxury.
Brock said it was “disgusting” that Six Nations, the largest and arguably the most urban reserve in Canada, has drinking water issues.
Six Nations recently filed a lawsuit against the federal government for its failure to ensure safe, potable water to Six Nations. The community has outdated wells, and a water plant doesn’t even serve the whole community.
The previous government had promised to end all boil water advisories on reserves across Canada and Brock chastised them for not fulfilling that promise.
He also said the federal government needs to address the housing gap on Six Nations.
“We need shovels in the ground. Housing is not a privilege. It is an absolute right.”
Brock also said Six Nations needs a government that will fulfill all the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report’s 94 Calls to Action to address wrongs committed against Indigenous people in Canada due to colonization.
“You are the masters,” Brock told Six Nations. “You are in control of your destiny.”
Brock said education gaps, and police and emergency and medical services need to be upgraded.
The riding of Brantford—Brant South—Six Nations used to be named Brantford—Brant.
Trump signs executive orders to give automobile industry tariff relief
By: Kelly Geraldine Malone
U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders Tuesday that he said will give some temporary relief to an automotive industry besieged by multiple tariffs that have caused anxiety and concern throughout the deeply integrated North American market.
"We just wanted to help them endure this little transition, short term … If they can’t get parts, you know it has to do with a very small percentage, if they can't get parts we didn't want to penalize them," Trump told report-
ers at the White House.
An official with the Commerce Department said in a call with reporters Tuesday that the administration will offer automakers that finish their vehicles in the U.S. a rebate on imported auto parts that is equal to 15 per cent of a vehicle's retail price. The rebate would drop to 10 per cent the following year.
A 25 per cent tariff on auto parts was set to go into place next month and the Commerce official said the change will offset its impact.
"We are just giving them a little chance because in some cases they can't get
the parts fast enough," Trump said. "So this is just a little transition."
Trump slapped a 25 per cent tariff on vehicle imports to the United States earlier this month.
Automakers are also being hit with 25 per cent duties on aluminum and steel, as well as the president's 10 per cent universal tariffs and 145 per cent levies on Chinese imports.
Trump signed a second executive order Tuesday so that companies paying the automobile tariffs won't see some other levies — including the ones on steel and aluminum — stacked on top of each other.
Treasury Secretary Scott
Bessent told a White House briefing earlier Tuesday that Trump is committed to bringing automobile manufacturing back to the United States. "We want to give the automakers a path to that quickly, efficiently, and create as many jobs as possible," Bessent said. It's not immediately clear what the full impact of the change will be for Canada's auto industry, which received a partial carve-out from Trump's tariffs for vehicles compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, called CUSMA. The current duties only hit the value of the non-American parts of ve-
hicles finished in Canada.
Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said the ongoing inconsistency of Trump's tariffs is driving away investment and business in Canada and the U.S. Only an end to tariffs will provide real relief, she said.
"North American autoworkers, plants and investors can't predict how the U.S. administration will wake up and feel on any given morning," Laing said in a statement. "Business plans are delayed. Pricing pressure is rising."
Bessent said Trump had meetings with domestic and foreign auto producers before making the changes.
General Motors chair and CEO Mary Barra said the company appreciates "the productive conversations" with the president and his administration and looks forward "to continuing to work together."
"We believe the president's leadership is helping level the playing field for companies like GM and allowing us to invest even more in the U.S. economy," Barra said in an emailed statement.
Six of the auto industry's largest lobbying groups sent a letter to the Trump administration last week urging tariff relief and warning of supply chain disruption and higher prices. The letter said "most auto suppliers are not capitalized for an abrupt tariff induced disruption."
"Many are already in distress and will face production stoppages, layoffs and bankruptcy," said the letter, which was signed by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents every major automaker in the United States except Tesla Inc.
The announcement came as Trump was headed Tuesday to Michigan, the heart of America's automobile industry, for a rally to mark his administration's first 100 days.
The state is home to the Detroit Three — Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, now part of Stel-
lantis — all of which have been pushing the president against tariffs that are upending the deeply integrated North American automobile industry.
Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents the Big Three, said applying multiple tariffs to the same product was causing significant concerns. Stellantis chairman John Elkann said the company appreciates the tariff relief.
"While we further assess the impact of the tariff policies on our North American operations, we look forward to our continued collaboration with the U.S. administration to strengthen a competitive American auto industry and stimulate exports," Elkann said in an emailed statement.
Trump has claimed Canada is taking American automobile jobs but the two countries have been developing the industry in tandem since the early 1900s. Integration was deepened with the 1965 Auto Pact trade deal between Canada and the U.S. CUSMA, negotiated during the first Trump administration, increased protections for the automobile industry. Vehicles can cross the border multiple times before completion and Trump's tariffs have led to confusion and concern on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.
"Whether the U.S. administration likes it or not, we're in this together and supply chains don’t heal quickly once broken," Laing said. Anderson Economic Group, a Michigan consulting firm, estimated earlier this month that an extra US$5,000 could be added to the cost of the lowest-tariffed American cars, and up to US$12,000 to the price of full-sized SUVs. Trump's tariffs have since changed rapidly.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2025.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre loses his long-held seat in Ottawa
By Sarah Ritchie
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will not have a seat in the next Parliament after a stunning upset by his Liberal opponent, raising questions about his ability to continue as party leader and the role he will play when the House of Commons reconvenes.
It also raises questions about where he will live. After serving as MP for more than 20 years, Poilievre lost to Liberal Bruce Fanjoy in the riding of Carleton.
In his concession speech on election night, Poilievre pledged that Conservatives will "do our constitutional duty of holding government to account and proposing better alternatives."
But the duty of leading the official Opposition in Parliament rests with a sitting MP.
Lyle Skinner, a constitutional lawyer who specializes in parliamentary law, said the role is not explicitly defined in Canadian law but it is "hard-coded" into our system of responsible government, where the government has to
defend its record through questions posed by the Opposition leader.
"If you don't have a seat in the House of Commons, that constitutional function (of Opposition leader) is delinked and it breaks down," he said.
When Mark Carney became Liberal leader in March, he was named prime minister despite the fact that he did not have a seat in the House — a very different situation.
"The office of the prime minister is actually an office of the Crown, and so it's appointed by the governor general," Skinner said.
Poilievre and the Conservatives will need to name an MP to lead the party in the House of Commons when Parliament resumes, likely in late May.
Being Opposition leader comes with several perks, including Stornoway, the eight-bedroom official residence where Poilievre has lived since he took over the Conservative leadership. According to the Official Residences Act, that home is designated for the use of the leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons.
Skinner said there's some flexibility and the person who takes over the role of Opposition leader in the House could choose not to move into Stornoway. But he said it's not clear in law how long such a situation could go on.
By losing his seat, Poilievre also loses his salary as a member of Parliament, which would be $209,800 this year, along with the $99,900 top-up afforded to the Opposition leader.
Fanjoy won in Carleton by a margin of 4,315 votes in Monday's election. The political rookie tirelessly knocked on doors in his bid to unseat Poilievre, saying the riding deserved better.
In an interview with The Canadian Press before the election, Fanjoy said he felt confident he had a shot against Poilievre. "I'm not sure whether he doesn't understand that he's in a race here for his seat, or if he's just trying to pretend that it's not happening," he said at the time.
Poilievre was first elected in 2004 and has won in the suburban Ottawa riding six subsequent times
over the last 21 years. He took the Conservative party reins in 2022, winning the leadership by a wide margin on the first ballot. He has a reputation for being a very effective Opposition leader, with a penchant for pointed attacks in question period. He has also proven to be a divisive figure. Polls consistently showed he had negative personal approval ratings, particularly among women.
Sharon DeSousa, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said she's not surprised by Fanjoy's victory. Carleton is home to a large number of public servants and Poilievre ran on a pledge to make deep cuts to government bureaucracy.
"They took a stance that they're going to cut more than 17,000 federal public sector jobs per year," she said, adding the figure seemed "made up."
DeSousa said she felt Poilievre was "disconnected from his own constituency."
Another factor in Fanjoy's win was the support of NDP voters. In 2021, the NDP candidate got 8,164 votes. This year, the New
Democrat candidate got only 1,222 votes.
That mirrors the results of the election overall — which saw the NDP lose official party status and drop to just seven seats across the country after a large number of its supporters turned to the Liberals.
Poilievre can remain as Conservative leader even if he is not the leader of the Opposition, though that decision will rest with the Conservative party. He could seek a different seat in a byelection if one should become vacant.
Even if a seat opens up, it could be months until a byelection is actually held. The government has up to 180 days, or six months, after a seat is vacated to call a byelection, and the vote must be held within 50 days of that.
In his concession speech early Tuesday morning, Poilievre congratulated Prime Minister Mark Carney on forming government and indicated he would continue as Conservative leader.
"It will be an honour to continue to fight for you and to be a champion of your cause," he told a
crowd of supporters at a downtown Ottawa convention centre.
He spoke several hours before the votes were fully counted in his own riding, but he trailed all night.
The Conservative party has not responded to a request for comment on the results in Carleton.
Poilievre did not speak to reporters on Tuesday.
Former party leader and re-elected MP Andrew Scheer tweeted his support for Poilievre to stay on as leader, citing the party's gains in popular vote and seat count.
The Tories won 144 seats and just over 41 per cent of the popular vote, according to Elections Canada results on Tuesday afternoon. The last time a conservative party had that high of a percentage was in 1988. The modern Conservative party was formed in 2003.
"His inspirational leadership has brought more people into the Conservative movement," Scheer said in a social media post Tuesday afternoon.
"His continued leadership will ensure we finish the job next time."
Time outdoors for mental health
JACE KOBLUN
jace@tworowtimes.com
Nature beckons billions of people to get outside every day. Natural settings are not called “the great outdoors” for nothing, and nature enthusiasts may insist there’s nothing better than a day in the elements.
Such a sentiment may be more accurate than the most ardent outdoorsman realizes. In fact, the American Psychological Association notes that extensive research supports the notion that nature provides myriad physical and psychological benefits.
Nature can help with attention. A 2019 study published in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science found that exposure to natural environments improves working memory, cognitive flexibility and attentional control. On the flip side, the study found that
exposure to urban environments can be linked to attention deficits. Such findings echo conclusions from an experimental study conducted in 2015 by researchers in Australia. That study engaged students in a dull task to compromise their attention. Midway through the task, which involved pressing a computer key when certain numbers flashed on a screen, some students were asked to look out at a flowering green while others were directed to gaze at a concrete rooftop. Students who looked at the green made notably fewer mistakes with the computer screen task than those who looked at the concrete rooftop.
Nature can increase happiness. Some findings suggest time spent in nature also can lead to increases in happiness. A 2019 study published in the journal Science Advances found that contact with nature is associated
SIX NATIONS POLICE
Constable - Contract Position
with increases in happiness and subjective well-being. The researchers also found that contact with nature is associated with an increased sense of meaning and purpose in life.
Time outdoors may lower children’s risk for mental health disorders later in life. Researchers in Denmark used satellite data to assess more than 900,000 individuals born between 1985 and 2003. The researchers discovered that children who lived in neighbourhoods with more green space had a lower risk of various psychiatric disorders later in life. Risk for depression, mood disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and substance use disorder were found to be lower among children who grew up with greater access to green space than children who had the lowest levels of green space exposure.
Applications for a contract position for Constable with the Six Nations Police are now being called for. All applicants must fill out a standard application form available at the Six Nations Police Station.
CRITERIA for applicants are as follows:
Minimum Requirements to be considered for a career in First Nations Policing with the Six Nations Police Service, you must:
- Be 19 years of age or over and able to provide an official birth certificate or proof of age;
- Be physically and mentally able to perform the duties of the position having regard to your own safety and the safety of members of the public
- Have successfully completed at least 4 years of Secondary School education or its equivalent (official transcripts and diplomas will be required)
- Be of good moral character and habits, meaning that you are an individual other people would consider being trustworthy and having integrity, with no criminal record;
- Certified by a physician to be fit for duty as a front line Six Nations Police Constable and able to pass physical tests which are required in the recruiting process
- Possess a valid driver’s license with no more than 6 accumulated demerit points, permitting you to drive an automobile in Ontario with full driving privileges
- Be able to pass a security clearance as well as background investigation, credit card and reference checks If you have any criminal convictions under a Federal Statute you must obtain a pardon.
Special Requirements – for the Six Nations Police Service, in order to address the unique and at times urgent needs of the Six Nations of the Grand River Community and Haudenosaunee culture, additional requirements include:
- Extensive knowledge of the unique social dynamics of the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory
- A sound understanding of Haudenosaunee culture, customs, traditions and social political issues of the Six Nations of the Grand River
- Six Nations of the Grand River Band Membership/Citizenship and residency is considered a preferred asset and
- Membership or extensive working experience with any Indigenous Nation will also be considered an asset
Desirable Qualifications:
•
WP stands in solidarity with the National Day of Awareness for MMIWG
Supporting Indigenous women's safety, security and well-being
MAY 5 2025
We Honour The Memory Of Murdered And Missing Indigenous Women.
