Manitoba MLA launches petition calling for public inquiry into Tina Fontaine killing
St. Johns MLA Nahanni Fontaine is circulating a legislative petition calling on Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister's government to launch an inquiry into the death of Tina Fontaine.
"All of the circumstances leading up to the death of Tina Fontaine — meaning all of those systems that she came into contact with, the investigation into her death, and then, of course the court processes — warrants a public inquiry," said the St. Johns MLA, who is not related to Tina, on Friday.
The 15-year-old from Sagkeeng First Nation was found dead in the Red River, wrapped in a duvet and weighed down with rocks, on Aug. 17, 2014. The cause of her death has never been determined, and the man charged with her killing, Raymond Cormier, was acquitted in February.
During the last day she was reportedly seen alive, Tina Fontaine had contact with police, hospital staff, and the child welfare system. She was a ward of CFS at the time of her death.
The province has resisted calls for a public inquiry in the wake of the acquittal, saying the Office of the Children's Advocate is currently conducting a review.
Nahanni Fontaine, who is also from Sagkeeng, said she supports the children's advocate's review, but argues that "a public inquiry looks very different."
One of the major differences of a public inquiry would be that Tina's family and the community of Sagkeeng could have intervener status, meaning they could have their own lawyers present. An inquiry could also compel witnesses to appear.
"We have a responsibility, and certainly I, as an Indigenous woman, as an Indigenous MLA, have even more of a responsibility to bring that directly inside the chamber and inside the House."
By launching a legislative petition, which are read into the record in the Manitoba Legislature, Fontaine said she "wanted to do something tangible and also give some semblance of hope to the family, but also to let the family and the community and the public know that we will not rest until there is justice, not only for Tina Fontaine, but every MMIWG."
The petition, which Fontaine shared over her Facebook and Twitter accounts, calls on the premier and Justice Minister Heather Stefanson to call an inquiry "into the systems that had a role in the life and death of Tina Fontaine as well as the function of the administration of justice after her death."
It also calls for Tina's family to be involved in drawing up the frame of reference for an inquiry.
Fontaine said she has had requests for copies of the petition from as far away as B.C. and expects to have hundreds ready within the next few weeks.
