OTTAWA - Indigenous leaders say it is absolutely unacceptable that Health Canada was aware last year of concerns about a suicide pact in a northern Ontario community, but did not provide financial assistance to help.
The community of Wapekeka First Nation presented documents detailing challenges with mental health in July 2016 and asked for $376,000 to tackle the problem.
Community members now are mourning the loss of two 12-year-old girls, Jolynn Winter and Chantel Fox.
The reserve, plagued by a legacy of sexual abuse, lies about 600 kilometres due north of Thunder Bay.
Health Canada says it told community members last fall that it would pursue funding opportunities for Wapekeka.
Community spokesperson Joshua Frogg says the bureaucracy is cumbersome and doesn't move fast enough to help communities facing dire needs.
