THUNDER BAY – Nearly one year after the inquest into the deaths of seven Indigenous youth produced 145 recommendations, the city is looking to make “concrete change” by the time the next wave of students arrive in Thunder Bay.
The city’s response and progress on the 31 recommendations on which it was named were unveiled at a Wednesday afternoon news conference, ahead of its presentation to city council at next week’s meeting.
The annual update comes a year after the coroner’s inquest into the deaths of Jethro Anderson, Reggie Bushie, Robyn Harper, Kyle Morrisseau, Paul Panacheese, Curran Strang and Jordan Wabasse concluded, but also one month after Indigenous teens Tammy Keeash and Josiah Begg were found in city waterways.
“We are absolutely challenged. The deaths of youths in our waterways is a tragedy. They all are,” city manager Norm Gale said. “We’re working together, we’re working in partnerships, we have tangible things that we’re doing. We are committed to this situation.”
The coroner’s inquest examined the deaths of the seven students, all from remote First Nations communities who died between 2000 and 2011 while attending high school in Thunder Bay. Six of the youth attended Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School while Wabasse was taking classes through the Matawa Learning Centre.
The jury was tasked with developing recommendations aimed at preventing future similar deaths, though they are not legally binding.
Karen Lewis, the city’s corporate strategic services director and lead on inquest response, said the recent losses of Keeash and Begg emphasize the need for immediate action.
“As a community, we all suffer with those families and we want to see action happen,” Lewis said. “Making some concrete change by the time students come in September would be appropriate.”
The resolution before council on Monday calls for “sufficient funds” be included in next year’s budget “for consideration to augment contributions from existing budgets and leverage other funding from orders of government,” though Gale did not define an amount that would be considered sufficient. It also would order preliminary costing to be provided ahead of the budget.
Administration is also recommending the implementation of the First Nation Secondary School Transit Pass Pilot Program, which would provide a subsidized bus pass to Indigenous students who are not permanent city residents but are living in Thunder Bay while attending high school.
Lewis said that pilot program would address two recommendations, which revolve around increasing access to transportation for students.
Also on Monday, council will receive a preliminary report from the river safety audits conducted on three identified high-risk areas, a recommendation stemming from the inquest after the bodies of five of the seven youth were found in rivers.
After Keeash was found in the Neebing-McIntyre Floodway and Begg was located in the McIntyre River, increasing safety around waterways has become an issue of significance with Nishnawbe Aski Nation deputy grand chief Anna Betty Achneepineskum appearing before council on Monday requesting surveillance cameras be installed.
While the city has not identified any specific measures that have been recommended, Lewis told Achneepineskum on Monday that consideration will be given to using cameras.
“We will be acting as quickly as possible on some safety priorities,” Lewis said. “We’re doing that because of the urgency of the situation.”
Lewis said more detailed recommendations from the audits – including costs to implement – will be brought to council during the summer months.
The annual report – which was one of the recommendations for all named parties to produce and distribute publicly – also identifies measures the city has already implemented.
Actions already undertaken by the city include increasing access and awareness of recreation opportunities provided by the city and the establishment in January of a sports equipment lending library at the Matawa Learning Centre that’s open to all Indigenous youth attending school in the Thunder Bay.
