Foreclosing Accountability: The Limited Scope of the Seven Youth Inquest in Thunder Bay, Ontario

Authors

  • Travis Andrew Hay York University

Keywords:

Provincial inquests, settler colonialism, federal Indian policy, First Nations education, Indigenous studies, treaty history, Thunder Bay

Abstract

Between 2000 and 2011 seven students from First Nation communities across northern Ontario lost their lives while attending high school in Thunder Bay. These losses of Indigenous life became the subject of a joint provincial inquest that concluded in the summer of 2016. In this article the author offers a critical examination of the scope of this inquest as well as a broader chronological review of its proceedings. The focus is on the ways in which the presiding coroner shaped the scope of the inquest to include things like the alcohol consumption of the students and to exclude things like the quality of police investigations. The issue of First Nation Jury Representation and its role in delaying the inquest for several years is also contextualized. Ultimately, it is argued that the Seven Youth Inquest conforms closely to what Sherene Razack (2011; 2015) has written about the colonial function of inquests into the deaths of Indigenous peoples: mainly that such proceedings stage decontextualized narratives of First Nation dysfunction that are hostile to structural analysis and unlikely to animate opportunities for institutional accountability. Finally, it is argued that non-Indigenous coroners – who are trained in forensic pathology but lack training in federal Indian policy, treaty rights, and Indigenous histories – are unqualified to preside over provincial inquests into the deaths of First Nation people. In fact, this training (or lack thereof) may facilitate setting woefully limited scopes and therefore reproducing victim-blaming of First Nation youth in Canadian courtrooms.

Résumé

Entre 2000 et 2011, sept étudiants Autochtones ont trouvé la mort alors qu’ils poursuivaient des études secondaires à Thunder Bay. Ces derniers venaient de plusieurs communautés des Premières Nations à travers l’Ontario. La mort de ces jeunes Autochtones a été le sujet d’une enquête du coroner de la province de l’Ontario qui a été conclue à l’été 2016. Les auteurs de cet article offrent une explication critique de la portée de cette enquête ainsi qu’une analyse chronologique plus vaste des procédures. Le thème principal est la façon dont le coroner qui présidait l’enquête a orienté sa portée afin d’inclure, entre autres, la consommation d’alcool des étudiants tout en excluant d’autres éléments tels la qualité des enquêtes policières. Le problème de la représentation des Premières Nations sur la liste des jurés et le rôle que cela a joué sur le retardement du procès pendant plusieurs années sont aussi mentionnés. De plus, l’enquête sur la mort de ces sept étudiants se rapproche beaucoup à ce que Sherene Razack a écrit au sujet du rôle colonialiste des enquêtes qui touchent la mort des personnes autochtones (2011 ; 2015). Son argument principal étant que ces procédures mettent en scène des récits décontextualisés du dysfonctionnement des Premières Nations qui vont à l’encontre de l’analyse structurale et qui rendent la possibilité de démontrer la responsabilité institutionnelle peu probable. Pour finir, ils disputent le fait que les coroners non autochtones ne sont pas qualifiés pour présider les enquêtes provinciales liées à la mort des personnes autochtones. Bien qu’ils aient la formation nécessaire en médecine légale, ces derniers manquent de formation quant aux Lois sur les Indiens, aux droits issus des traités et à l’histoire des Autochtones. En effet, cette formation (du moins, ces lacunes) faciliterait la fixation d’une portée manifestement limitée, permettant, par conséquent, la condamnation répétée de la victime chez les jeunes des Premières Nations dans les salles d’audience canadiennes.

Mots clés: Enquête du coroner; colonialisme de peuplement; loi sur les Indiens; éducation des Premières Nations; études autochtones; histoire des traités; Thunder Bay

 

Author Biography

Travis Andrew Hay, York University

Dr. Travis Hay is a historian and community organizer from Thunder Bay, Ontario. As a SSHRC-funded Postdoctoral Fellow at Lakehead University, Travis’ research focuses on settler colonialism, the provincial north of Ontario, and the history of federal Indian policy. He has published articles on the history of medicine, edited collections on reproductive justice, and appeared multiple times on national media.

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Published

2018-11-01

How to Cite

Hay, T. A. (2018). Foreclosing Accountability: The Limited Scope of the Seven Youth Inquest in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Canadian Review of Social Policy Revue Canadienne De Politique Sociale, 78. Retrieved from https://crsp.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/crsp/article/view/40328

Issue

Vol. 78 (2018)

Section

Articles

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