NB Update #2: Skyler Sappier’s family seeks justice | climate activists question Irving Institute | salmon restoration

On this edition of the show, we check out the situation at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where a group of climate activists has published a report taking issue with a new institute sponsored by Irving Oil.

The Arthur Irving Institute for Energy and Society was named after the owner of Irving Oil, which operates Canada’s largest refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick.

We also hear about how the family of Skyler Sappier is fighting for justice, after the 28-year-old Wolastoqewiyik inmate caught COVID-19 in jail and died in hospital.

In May this year, the jury in a coroner’s inquest found that Sappier, a father of two, died of “natural cause.” The family says that Sappier suffered from medical neglect in jail, and they plan to launch legal action.

Chief Ross Perley of Neqotkuk First Nation has also renewed calls for an “Indigenous-led inquiry into the systemic racism that is on full display in today’s justice system.”

Back in New Brunswick, we examine Indigenous-led efforts to restore wild Atlantic salmon in the Petitcodiac River watershed.

Amlamgog First Nation launched its habitat recovery program in 1993 in the wake of a widespread regional collapse of Atlantic salmon, a species known in Mi’kmaq as plamu.

The results seem promising, but the role of a major fish farming company raises questions about whether open-net pen aquaculture is one of the factors harming wild populations.

Check out the NB Update for more details on these stories, along with a selection of news and information from our team of contributors.

The NB Update is a collaboration between the NB Media Co-op and CHCO TV.

David Gordon Koch is a journalist with the NB Media Co-op. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Stations and Users (CACTUS).