Next step on inquest announced

The hearing date for standing at the joint inquest into the deaths of seven Nishnawbe Aski Nation high school students in Thunder Bay has been set for June 21.
Dr. David Eden will preside as inquest coroner at the hearing, which is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in Auditorium A of the Ontario Government Building at 189 Red River Rd. in Thunder Bay.
Eden will hear applications for standing under Section 41 of the Coroners Act. No other motions will be heard and the jury will not be present.
Details about further inquest proceedings will be announced at a later date, following the coroner’s ruling on standing.
To be granted standing, the coroner must find that the parties requesting standing are both substantially and directly interested in the inquest.
An Ontario online document, Aid to Ontario Inquests, states that parties with standing may represent themselves, or have lawyers or agents represent them. Parties may cross-examine witnesses relevant to their expressed interest and may call certain witnesses of their own if the coroner finds that the evidence of such a witness is relevant to the proceedings.
Parties with standing can also present arguments and submissions to the jury after all the evidence has been heard. This is to ensure that every person who might be significantly affected by the verdict or recommendations has an opportunity to be heard and to present their point of view.
If necessary, the coroner will hold a separate hearing to determine issues of standing or any other matter that requires a decision in the absence of the jury.
The office of Ontario’s previous chief coroner had called for an inquest into the death of Reggie Bushie in January 2009, but after consultation with NAN, Dr. Andrew McCallum, Ontario’s chief coroner in 2012, decided to expand the discretionary inquest to a joint inquest of all seven deaths, due to their similar circumstances.
Kasabonika Lake’s Jethro Anderson, 15, died in 2000; Pikangikum’s Curran Strang, 18, died in 2005; Mishkeegogamang’s Paul Panacheese, 19, died in 2006; Keewaywin’s Robyn Harper, 18, died in 2007; Poplar Hill’s Reggie Bushie, 15, died in 2007; Keewaywin’s Kyle Morrisseau, 17, died in 2009; and Webequie’s Jordan Wabasse, 15, died in 2011.
NAN requested a joint inquest because the families of the seven youth had been asking for answers into the deaths of their children.
“NAN has requested that the chief coroner commence a joint inquest into the deaths of seven of our youth to help the families and their communities obtain the closure they so rightfully deserve,” former deputy grand chief Terry Waboose said in 2012. “Since the most recent deaths, apprehension and fears have grown across NAN First Nations as to the real cause of these tragedies.”
The inquest into the death of Reggie Bushie had been scheduled for January 2009, but it was delayed after NAN and legal counsel for the Bushie family questioned the validity of the selection process for the jury.
Evidence on the validity of the jury roll was presented in July 2011 during pre-inquest hearings into Bushie’s death at the Superior Court of Justice in Thunder Bay.
The coroner then ruled in September 2011 that the 2011 jury roll was legally invalid and the inquest could not proceed.
Although hearings were scheduled for May 2012 to look into the validity of the 2012 jury roll, the hearing was adjourned to allow the Chief Coroner of Ontario to consider NAN’s request for a joint inquest.
The families of the seven students met this past February to begin preparations for the joint inquest into the deaths.
“This was a good opportunity to get to know each other, these families who have the common experience of losing a loved one,” said Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler. “There will be other supports in place (during the inquest), but the families will be the main ones to support each other.”