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First of 13 once halted inquests to proceed next month

THUNDER BAY -- The first of 13 previously halted inquests involving the deaths of First Nations individuals in the Kenora and Thunder Bay districts will begin next month.

THUNDER BAY -- The first of 13 previously halted inquests involving the deaths of First Nations individuals in the Kenora and Thunder Bay districts will begin next month.

Romeo Wesley, 34, died in police custody at a Cat Lake First Nation nursing station on Sept. 4, 2010.

As Wesley was in police custody when he died, a coroner’s inquest is mandatory. However, due to underrepresentation of First Nation people on jury rolls, that inquest is one of many that has been on hold.

But a provincial regulation passed in March now allows on-reserve First Nation community members to volunteer for jury rolls.

The list of volunteers was collected with the help of Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Northwestern Ontario’s regional supervising coroner Michael Wilson said jurors will be selected from the volunteer list proportionally to the population.

Wilson said it’s satisfying to see the inquests start to move forward.

“There is a tragic irony that the people who most come to the attention of my office who die suddenly and unexpectedly and who have an inquest, people from their communities have not really had a fair chance to sit on these inquest juries and I think this address that historic injustice,” he said.

The inquest into Wesley’s death will begin on June 8 in Sioux Lookout and is expected to take about two weeks.

The inquest into the deaths of seven First Nation youth in Thunder Bay is expected to begin this fall, which NAN Deputy Chief Alvin Fiddler said in March was a relief for the families of the youth.

More than 300 people have volunteered to be on the jury roll.





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