Inquiry will look at seven youth deaths

The Chief Coroner of Ontario will be conducting a joint inquest into the deaths of seven teenagers who left their remote communities in Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) territory to attend secondary school in Thunder Bay.

Terry Waboose, deputy grand chief for NAN, is pleased that the coroner has responded favorably to NAN’s request to broaden the scope of the inquiry to include all the students’ deaths, which occurred between 2000 and 2009. Initially, the coroner‘s office was to conduct only a single inquest, examining the death of Reggie Bushie, 15, from Poplar Hill First Nation, who died Nov. 1, 2007.

“The students … have perished over the last number of years under similar circumstances so we wanted to ensure that the inquest would be broadened in the sense that all the students would be investigated separately under one inquest,” said Waboose.

Under the Coroner’s Act, said Cheryl Mahyr, spokesperson for the chief coroner’s office, Dr. Andrew McCallum, as chief coroner, has the option to consider requests to broaden the scope of inquiries. The similarities were such that McCallum agreed to the joint inquest.

The Bushie inquest was scheduled to begin in January 2009. However, concerns about the validity of the selection process for the jury caused delays. NAN also requested that the inquest be postponed until McCallum ruled on a joint inquest.

“There`s a lot of questions, lot of concerns also from the communities, the families, the relatives of these young people that have perished. So there’s a lot of apprehension and fear in us under the circumstances as why these young people perished. It doesn’t make sense,” said Waboose.

The new inquest will look into the deaths that preceded Bushie’s, as well as the two that followed. The inquest includes Jethro Anderson, 15, from Kasabonika Lake First Nation, who died on Nov. 11, 2000; Curran Strang, 18, from Pikangikum First Nation, who died Sept. 26, 2005; Paul Panacheese, 19, from Mishkeegogamang First Nation, who died on Nov. 11, 2006; Robyn Harper, 19, of Keewaywin First Nation, who died on Jan. 13, 2007; Kyle Morrisseau, 17, of Keewaywin First Nation, who died on Nov. 10, 2009; and, Jordan Wabasse,15, of Webequie First Nation, who died on May 10, 2011.

The bodies of Bushie, Anderson, Strang, Panacheese and Morriseau were all recovered from the McIntyre River, while Wabasse’s body was recovered from the Kaministiquia River. Harper, the only girl, died of asphyxiation. Six of the seven students attended Dennis Franklin Cromarty School. Wabasse attended the Matawa Learning Centre.

The five-member inquest panel is tasked with determining the answers to five questions: who died, when, where, how, and by what means or manner.
Manner of death, said Mahyr, means determining homicide, suicide, natural causes, accident or undetermined.

“If appropriate, the jury makes recommendations that if implemented… may prevent deaths in similar circumstances,” said Mahyr. However, a jury’s recommendations, which are formulated through listening to testimony, are not binding.

The inquest is not only about the parents and families finding the answers they are looking for, said Waboose.
“Hopefully at the end of the day it prevents similar deaths in the future.”

No date or location has been set for the inquest.
Waboose is anticipating a late fall or early winter start.

Mahyr said it will be difficult to determine how long the inquest will take. She noted that three weeks had been scheduled for the inquest into Bushie’s death.