Ontario’s child advocate is calling the inquest into the deaths of seven First Nations students in Thunder Bay a “watershed moment” for the province and the country.
Irwin Elman says his role is to ensure the voice of First Nations youth is heard and influences the inquest.
He says his office will have a group of young people who will inform both him and his lawer in the hearing about issues that come up during the inquest, and what they want them to be saying.
Elman adds his office has heard clearly that young native people experience dislocation, racism, and the emotional baggage of the residential school system.
He says, while it’s clear we don’t know how the seven students died, the experience of coming from remote communities to an urban centre like Thunder Bay puts them at risk.
