Suicides of two 12-year-olds highlight need for federal action: grand chief
OTTAWA — The deaths of two 12-year-old girls from a remote First Nation in northern Ontario are further evidence of the need for a national suicide strategy to help protect children across Canada, a prominent indigenous leader says.
One of the girls was found dead Sunday and the second one Tuesday in Wapekeka First Nation, a tiny, isolated community of about 360 people some 600 kilometres due north of Thunder Bay.
The community is focused on ensuring there is enough support in place to stabilize the situation, said Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler, whose organization represents 49 First Nations communities in Ontario.
A number of young people that have been identified as high-risk were flown out of the community Wednesday, and there’s reason to believe other youth may be at risk, Fiddler said in an interview.