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Atikamekw baby to be reburied in home community more than 70 years after death
Atikamekw baby to be reburied in home community
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
More than 70 years after his death, an Atikamekw baby buried far from his family in Quebec City will be laid to rest in his home community.
After 12 years of searching, the family of Maxime Ottawa has located his burial site, exhumed his remains and confirmed his identity, bringing what relatives describe as "immense relief."
"On Oct. 26, 2026, Baby Maxime will finally come home to Manawan, to his mother and father, to his brothers and sisters," his niece, Manon Ottawa, said Thursday at a news conference in Montreal.
Maxime was the brother of her father, Henri Ottawa, whose wish to find out what happened to the child prompted her to begin searching in 2014.
Manawan is an Atikamekw community located about 250 kilometres north of Montreal.
In 1954, when Maxime was just six months old, he was taken from Manawan to La Tuque, Que., for medical treatment without his parents.
He was later transferred to Quebec City without his family being informed. He died on Oct. 5, 1954, after 43 days in the hospital, without his loved ones having the chance to see him one last time.
His parents only learned of his death two years later, and were unable to hold a funeral or bury him according to their traditions and beliefs.
"In 2014, four years after the death of my father Henri, I began searching, according to his wishes, to find my uncle," Ottawa told reporters.
"I wanted to understand what had happened to him … I wanted to know the truth."
The family's search eventually led them to Saint-Charles Cemetery in Quebec City, where Maxime had been buried.
In October 2025, Quebec Superior Court authorized the exhumation of his remains so that forensic testing could confirm his identity and, if successful, allow him to be reburied in Manawan.
The exhumation proved particularly complex.
Cemetery records indicate Maxime was buried in a plot containing five people, while the two neighbouring plots contained four and five people, respectively, all of them Indigenous.
One body was eventually exhumed and transferred to Quebec's forensic laboratory for identification testing.
Nearly a year later, on Sept. 30, Canada's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the family received confirmation that the remains belonged to Maxime Ottawa.
"Receiving this confirmation precisely on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation gave it an even deeper meaning in our story," Manon Ottawa said.
She added that reconciliation goes beyond words and requires seeking truth and respecting the dignity of families.
Maxime's story is one of several involving Indigenous children who disappeared or died after being sent to Quebec hospitals decades ago, leaving families searching for answers.
In 2020, Indigenous leaders called for separate legislation to help families access medical records and religious archives to learn what happened to their children. The province passed a law the following year allowing families to access certain records held by health institutions, government bodies and religious organizations.
Maxime's remains are expected to return to Manawan on Monday, ahead of a reburial ceremony on Wednesday that will honour his memory and the traditions of his community.
In a statement Thursday, the family thanked those who helped bring Maxime home after decades of uncertainty.
"While their search for truth is coming to an end, the journey toward possible reconciliation can now begin," the family said in a statement issued through their lawyer, Olivia Malenfant.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2026.
By Frédéric Lacroix-Couture | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Do municipal councils represent the diversity of their constituents?
Ontario’s 2022 municipal election turnout fell to a historic low of 32.9 per cent.
Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton are among Canada's most diverse cities, but how closely do their municipal councils reflect the communities they represent?
As voters prepare for the Oct. 26 municipal elections, New Canadian Media has examined the barriers to political representation in these three major cities.
The series explored the challenges facing immigrant and visible minority candidates; the advantages enjoyed by incumbents; the role of campaign fundraising; and debates over the use of languages other than English to reach voters. It has also looked at whether public transit systems are meeting the needs of immigrant communities.
Voter participation remains a concern. In Ontario's 2022 municipal elections, participation fell to a historic low of 32.9 per cent, according to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO).
Toronto, Mississauga, and Brampton are reporting increased advance voting numbers, although that may not translate into a higher overall voter turnout.
In its Turn up the Turnout report, the AMO suggests the shrinking of the local media environment has had far-reaching impacts on voter participation and turnout.
As part of this coverage, NCM reporter Rodrigo Huerta Aguirre created an interactive map to help readers explore the relationship between local demographics, elected representatives and voter participation.
The map below shows municipal election results from 2022 and subsequent byelections, along with information on councillors, ward demographics drawn from the 2021 census and voter turnout in Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton.
These details offer a closer look at the communities that municipal councils represent, and the residents who participate in choosing them.
The map reveals striking differences between wards, even within the same city. In Mississauga, immigrants made up nearly 60 per cent of residents in Wards 4 and 6 according to the 2021 census. In Wards 1 and 2, immigrants accounted for one third of the population.
Voter participation varied widely across Toronto in 2022, with turnout reaching 38 per cent in Parkdale–High Park but falling to 22 per cent in Humber River–Black Creek.
By placing these demographic figures next to the names and photographs of elected representatives, the map shows how closely municipal councils reflect the communities they serve. The differences in voter participation also raise broader questions about political representation and the barriers to participation explored in NCM's election coverage.
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Copyright 2026, New Canadian Media. All rights reserved.
Rodrigo Huerta Aguirre, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, New Canadian Media.
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Ottawa to announce funding for 60 national sport organizations
Ottawa to fund 60 national sport organizations
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan
The federal government is set to announce funding for more than 60 national sport organizations today.
Organizations set to receive funding include Athletics Canada, Canada Basketball, the Canadian Cycling Association and Hockey Canada.
Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden will announce the funding today alongside Team Canada athletes and members of Parliament.
A government official says the funding is meant to help organizations expand participation by increasing access, building interest and delivering programming.
The federal government announced plans in its spring economic update to inject more money into Canada's national sport organizations.
That promise came after the Future of Sport in Canada Commission's final report, issued in March, found the country's sport system was facing a "funding crisis" as federal funding had not kept up with inflation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2026.
-With files from Nick Murray
By Catherine Morrison | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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