The Nishnawbe Aski Nation is renewing calls for a coroner’s inquest into a 2016 house fire in Pikangikum First Nation that claimed the lives of nine people, including three children under the age of 5.
In a letter to Ontario’s Chief Coroner, NAN says an inquest could examine the causes of house fires in remote communities and make recommendations that prevent further tragedies.
It stresses a need for stronger fire safety and prevention programs and initiatives.
Pikangikum Chief Dean Owen says his community continues to suffer from overcrowding, unsafe building standards and a lack of firefighting equipment.
