This joint inquest will examine the circumstances surrounding the deaths of seven First Nations youth who died under similar circumstances while attending school in Thunder Bay: Reggie Bushie, Jethro Anderson, Jordan Wabasse, Kyle Morriseau, Curran Strang, Paul Panacheese, and Robyn Harper. The Inquest into the Death of Seven First Nations Youth was originally an inquest into the loss of only one of these students, Reggie Bushie. However, his inquest was stalled in 2008, due to concerns regarding the lack of First Nations representation on jury rolls. NAN legally pursued this issue to the Court of Appeal, and politically advocated for solutions with the Ontario government. In response, Justice Frank Iacobucci was appointed to review the issue of First Nations representation on jury rolls. The Iacobucci Report, and the resulting Iacobucci Implementation Committee, Debwewin, took up the views of the First Nations community members who had requested a way to volunteer for Coroner’s Inquest juries. Ontario passed a regulation to allow First Nations people living on reserve to volunteer, and the Volunteer Jury Initiative began. While this work on jury composition was occurring, in May 2012, NAN wrote to the Chief Coroner with an application to hold a Joint Inquest into the … Continue reading Inquest into the Deaths of Seven First Nations Youth: Summary