Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 22, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba Learn more about YiP at wpgfdn.org The future of generosity The Winnipeg Foundation’s Youth in Philanthropy (YiP) program engages youth in community development through hands-on experience with local charities. Please help support Rossbrook House programs today. rossbrookhouse.ca/donate-today WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM ● A5 NEWS I CANADA WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2025 OTTAWA — The Assembly of First Nations says it’s talking to the Vatican Museum about re- patriating a number of sacred items in its collection. National Chief Cindy Wood- house Nepinak said Tuesday some logistical issues still need to be addressed before the items can be returned, including proto- cols to ensure their safe transfer. The AFN said it will announce further details once plans are finalized with the Vatican. “For First Nations, these items are not artifacts. They are living, sacred pieces of our cultures and ceremonies, and must be treated as the invaluable objects that they are,” Woodhouse Nepinak said. First Nations have for years called on the Vatican to repatriate Indigenous items in their collec- tion. First Nations leaders brought up the artifacts when they met with Pope Francis in Rome in 2022 to discuss the legacy of church-run residential schools. That visit happened after the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation announced the year prior that potential unmarked graves had been found at the former resi- dential school in Kamloops, B.C. The news sparked global outrage and a national push for reconcili- ation with Indigenous peoples. During the Rome visit, First Nations delegates were given a private viewing of some of the items held by the church, includ- ing embroidered gloves, a kayak and a sling for carrying a baby. Some of the artifacts had not been viewed by the public in decades. They left the Vatican emp- ty-handed, but with a renewed determination to bring the items back where they belong. Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the na- tional group representing Inuit, and the Métis National Council have also called on the Vatican to return their items. After Pope Francis died in April, Woodhouse Nepinak praised him for his work in advancing repatri- ation of the artifacts. The Vatican has said parts of its collection were originally gifts to previous popes and to the church. In 2019, Pope Francis committed to putting many more objects on display, including items from In- digenous cultures. Indigenous peoples maintain the items in Vatican custody were improperly taken from their com- munities. The collection is known to contain masks, wampum belts, pipes and rugs, among other items from Indigenous commun- ities in North America. Many objects were taken from Indigenous peoples after the Can- adian government outlawed cer- tain cultural practices through the Indian Act in 1876. Ceremon- ial items and other important ob- jects were seized and then sold, given to museums or destroyed. — The Canadian Press AFN talking to Vatican about repatriation of sacred items NATHAN DENETTE / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Pope Francis watches a traditional dance during his 2022 visit to Canada. O TTAWA — Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Canada continues to make prog- ress toward a new trade deal with the United States, but said there is no dead- line to get a deal within the next week or two. LeBlanc said he had repeated dis- cussions with his counterparts in the Trump administration, including as re- cently as Monday. “We’re making progress,” LeBlanc said. “We’re into a level of detail that we hadn’t seen previously, but we still have work to do, and my objective is to con- tinue to do that work until we get to the deal.” LeBlanc told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday he was surprised by a news re- port which said a deal with the Trump administration could be finalized in the next few days. The Globe and Mail reported that a deal on steel, aluminum and energy could be ready for Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump to sign at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea. Carney also told reporters Tuesday that there are ongoing discussions with the Trump administration but he “wouldn’t overplay it.” Carney and Trump are both set to travel to the APEC summit in South Korea later this month. Carney said he looks forward to seeing the president, but he will be meeting with many other countries’ leaders to talk about diversi- fying trade. LeBlanc was with Carney at the White House for a meeting with Trump earlier this month. Trump at the time said the prime minister would walk away “very happy” from their meet- ings in Washington, but a deal never materialized. Trump boosted duties on Canada to 35 per cent in August, but those tariffs do not apply to goods compliant under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade. Carney has said the CUSMA carve- out puts Canada in a better position than most other nations, including those that have signed deals with the Trump administration. Many Canadian industries, however, are being hammered by Trump’s sep- arate tariffs on specific industries like steel, aluminum, copper, automobiles and lumber. The president signed a declara- tion last Friday to hit medium-and heavy-duty trucks with tariffs starting Nov. 1, and Trump has indicated more sector-specific levies are on the way. LeBlanc remained in Washington for talks following Carney’s meeting with Trump, and was back in the U.S. cap- ital last week for talks on dropping the tariffs. “We’ll just continue to do the work to get the right deal,” LeBlanc said. “If we set an artificial deadline … it might lead us to a deal that’s not in the best interest of Canadian workers.” Carney is under increasing pressure to find tariff relief after having pre- sented himself as the best leader to navigate the second Trump adminis- tration during the spring election cam- paign. Business Council of Canada presi- dent and CEO Goldy Hyder said Mon- day he would be watching for a deal on steel and aluminum to come out of the APEC summit after both the American and Canadian sides indicated that prog- ress had been made. “Certainly the relationship between the prime minister and the president has never been better, and that’s what it takes to get a deal done,” Hyder said. “And so, I think there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic that we are work- ing toward some sectoral agreements on the aluminum and steel and energy, more specifically. There’s still work to do.” — The Canadian Press New trade deal not imminent KELLY GERALDINE MALONE Progress being made in negotiations with U.S., but no set deadline, trade minister says WOLFGANG DEPNER JOE Pendry used his experience as a boxer to fight for his life when a mother grizzly attacked him, grabbed him by the head and inflicted horrific injuries in British Columbia’s East Kootenay re- gion this month. His wife, Janice Pendry, has de- scribed how her 63-year-old husband survived the attack that took place near Fort Steele, northeast of Cranbrook, on Oct. 2 while he was hunting elk and encountered the bear, which had two cubs. Pendry said her husband shot the charging bear in the leg but it kept coming. She said he punched and even bit the animal’s ear as he fought for his life, suffering gruesome injuries that in- clude his lips and part of his scalp being torn off, losing a finger and suffering numerous broken bones. Pendry said her husband repeatedly punched the bear in the nose, drawing on his boxing skills, but the animal in- tensified its assault. Pendry said at one stage her hus- band’s head was in the animal’s mouth. “That’s when she tore his scalp off and did some major damage to his face,” she said. Pendry said her husband is also re- covering from a broken nose, broken cheekbones, two broken arms and broken ribs. He was eventually able to fend the animal off, calling 911 and his son for help, and he was flown to Kelowna Gen- eral Hospital, where he’s undergone multiple surgeries to his face and other parts of his body. “It was very touch and go,” Pendry said. “But he’s a tough fighter.” The BC Conservation Officer Service has said a dead grizzly found in the area days later was responsible for the attack, with Pendry saying she was told it died of sepsis. Pendry said her husband’s experi- ences as a boxer and outdoor hunting guide “helped him out in the bush” and allowed him to beat the odds. “It saved his life, because not many people … live through a grizzly attack.” But Pendry also said her husband faces a long recovery, and he’s experi- encing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. She said he “still dreams about the bear” and may never be able to return to work as a foreman with a highway maintenance company. Pendry said the incident has also taken a toll on her. “But I have family that are sup- porting me,” she said. “I have good days, I have bad days,” she said. “I never thought I’d have to go through this. I’m holding it together for everybody else. I’m trying to be strong for everybody else, and I’m holding it inside. I think one day, I’m going have to let it out.” — The Canadian Press Boxing skills helped B.C. man fight off grizzly: wife A grizzly sow that attacked Joe Pendry (below right) near Fort Steele, B.C., on Oct. 2. Pendry, who shot the animal before fighting it off with his bare hands continues to recover in Kelow- na General Hospital. JANICE PENDRY / VIA THE CANADIAN PRESS ‘It was very touch and go, but he’s a tough fighter’ ;