BR Indigenous Fires – CP

Source: The Canadian Press – Broadcast wire
Feb 7, 2018 2:30

TORONTO – Ontario’s chief coroner is setting up a panel of experts that will look at dozens of residential fires in Indigenous communities that have killed nearly 60 people in just over a decade.

Dr. Dirk Huyer says the panel — called the chief coroner’s table — will include coroners, forensic pathologists, fire investigators and members of Ontario’s Indigenous communities.

He says the table will examine each of the deaths to look for systemic issues, trends or patterns to understand what can be done about it.

Huyer said 58 people died in 34 house fires in Indigenous communities between 2007 and 2016 — numbers for 2017 are not yet available.

Federal figures suggest that rate of fire-related deaths in Indigenous communities is more than 10 times higher than in the rest of the country.

Huyer’s fact-finding mission follows repeated requests for a coroner’s inquest into fire safety from the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents nearly 50 nations in northern Ontario.

The panel has until February 2019 to complete its work.

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(The Canadian Press)

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