Ontario's NDP health critic is putting the third party's weight behind Nishnawbe Aski Nation's call to have the Coroner's Office investigate and attend every scene where child deaths occur on First Nations.
Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas echoed statements of newly-elected NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler as she encouraged a the coroner to make deep changes to the way its office addresses Aboriginal youth death.
"The fact of the matter is that this isn’t even a new issue, but an ongoing problem," Gelinas said in a release.
"The 2008 Inquiry into pediatric forensic pathology investigations by Justice Goudge called the province’s commitment to investigate children’s deaths in First Nations communities 'very unacceptable' then – and that was seven years ago."
The statements follow reporting in the Globe and Mail this week, which featured featured the story of Sandy Lake First Nation's Brody Meekis, who died from strep throat in Sandy Lake First Nation. There was no coroner's presence in the community following his death.
Gelinas demanded the governing Liberals take action to confront whatever barriers exist to investigating preventable death among youth on First Nations.
"We need to know how a healthy child can die from preventable illness in 2015, and the way we do that in Ontario is by having a Coroner attend and investigate," she said.
"Not only is it the right thing to do, it’s the law.”
