Gov’t Must Do More to Stop Preventable Deaths in First Nations Communities
QUEEN’S PARK, ON — Sol Mamakwa, Ontario NDP critic for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, released the following statement:
MPP Sol Mamakwa
“Too many First Nations know the heartbreak felt by Brody Meekis’ family, who lost their beloved boy to a strep infection — an entirely preventable death anywhere else in the province. No parent should have to suffer the anguish of losing their child, much less to a disease that need not be life-threatening. Every parent deserves answers. And yet, we hear about tragedies like this all too often in First Nations communities.
Instead of the government using its resources to fight this grieving family before the courts it should use its resources to do the right thing and make life better for people in First Nations communities in the province, so that a death such as Brody’s never happens again.
That’s why the Ontario NDP has been fighting to bring equitable access to First Nations communities to things that people in other parts of Ontario don’t have to think twice about — like clean water, safe and habitable housing, and reliable hydro.”
