Indigenous leaders to press federal government on services in northern community
OTTAWA — Indigenous leaders are set to press the federal government on Thursday over services available in Wapekeka First Nation — a tiny community in northern Ontario mourning the suicides of two 12-year-old girls.
The reserve school remains closed while crisis teams work on the ground following the deaths of Jolynn Winter and Chantel Fox earlier this month, community leaders said in a statement Wednesday.
“I can’t believe I had to bury my daughter,” said Fox’s mother Sandra. “It was so hard to say goodbye.”
The reserve identified several children who were secretly planning suicide several months ago, but the community was denied funding from the federal government, said community spokesperson Joshua Frogg.