THUNDER BAY — After reading the report on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Constable Sharlene Bourdeau decided it was time for the community and Thunder Bay Police to take some action on some of its recommendations.
Bourdeau came up with a unique way to raise reward money for information that solves outstanding cases.
The project initiated by the Thunder Bay Police constable invites community members to sponsor 4,000 red Christmas lights which will be strung on four evergreen trees outside police headquarters on Balmoral Street.
Each light will represent a missing or murdered Indigenous woman.
The trees will be topped with a blue Christmas light, representing support from local law enforcement.
A donation of any amount will go into a reward fund which Bourdeau hopes will eventually get to $48,000.
Crime Stoppers will contribute $2,000 to the fund, bringing the total to $50,000.
Bourdeau said "I wanted to get involved. There's people in this community that have family members that have gone missing or have been found murdered, and I think it's time to help bring closure to these families."
She said Christmas is supposed to be a time to be with loved ones, but for many, it's a time of sorrow over a lost family member.
"As a grandmother, mother and sister, I could not imagine having my granddaughter, daughter or sibling leave the house, never return, without any closure or being told they were murdered," Bourdeau said.
The project has the support of numerous agencies and organizations in the community including Indigenous agencies, the Thunder Bay Police Service and Police Services Board, and the Thunder Bay Police Association.
The police association stepped up with the initial donation of $1,000, followed by a similar donation from the police services board.
Anne Barile, spokesperson for the Thunder Bay Police Association, said the membership "overwhelmingly" agreed to participate.
"I think that with all the negative feedback that our service and our officers are receiving over the last quite awhile, there needs to be something positive in the community, that we do care," Barile said.
She feels lighting Christmas trees is a good way to raise the profile of the issue of missing and murdered women.
"Because out of sight, out of mind. If you have some lit trees, I think that, visually, people will get the gist of what this project is all about," Barile said.
After meeting some Indigenous members of the organizing committee, she was struck, she said, by the passion and heartbreak of individuals who have lost family members through unsolved crimes.
Canadian Tire on Arthur Street donated the first 1,200 Christmas lights.
Lights may be sponsored through a GoFundMe page or online at www.treeofhopeproject.com
The City of Thunder Bay will help install the lights on the trees outside police headquarters starting the week after Remembrance Day.
Bourdeau said she hopes other police across Canada will follow Thunder Bay's lead, and launch similar campaigns.
