Labrador boys burned in known gas-sniffing house, Innu deputy grand chief says

NATUASHISH, N.L. — The deputy grand chief of the Innu Nation is pleading for help after two boys were burned in a known hangout for gas sniffing in Labrador.

Simeon Tshakapesh says the two suffered burns when the house burned to the ground in Natuashish.

RCMP say the two boys — aged 11 and 17 — were seriously injured and are being treated in hospital.

It’s the third such fire in the community in less than a month.

Tshakapesh says solvent abuse among children and young people in the community has become “an epidemic,” and there is nothing in place to address it.

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The Canadian Press