A coroner’s inquest gets underway in Whitehorse Monday aimed at examining the drug-related deaths of four Indigenous women at the city’s emergency shelter.
Cassandra Warville, 35, and Myranda Tizya-Charlie, 34, both died in shelter in January 2022. Josephine Elizabeth Hager, 38, and Darla Skookum, 52, died in early 2023.
“Cassandra, Miranda, Josephine and Darla had life left to live, memories still to be made, milestones to achieve, were seeking our help, and their lives still ended too soon,” Premier Ranj Pillai said at a briefing Friday. “For this, we are deeply sorry.”
Pillai said his government will abide by the inquest’s findings and any recommendations.
“Our priorities now are to co-operate with the coroner’s inquest, as they seek to provide answers to the public to understand what happened and why and to take swift and decisive action to work to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.”
Deputy Premier Jeanie McLean said the territorial government will fund travel for the families, so they can attend the inquest, and will provide more counselling services in the women’s home communities.
“It really cannot be lost that we are speaking about the deaths of four Indigenous women,” she said. “Their gender and their Indigeneity cannot be ignored when we speak about these tragic losses.”
The coroner’s office and the government are both warning the inquest will be difficult.
The jury will review security footage from the downtown emergency shelter and hear from experts about the deaths.
Jurors will have the chance to make recommendations at the end of the inquest. Their job isn’t to find legal or criminal responsibility.
The Yukon government says additional counselling supports will be available during the inquest.
In-person and virtual rapid access counselling appointments can be made by calling 867-456-3838, or toll-free at 1-866-456-3838. In-person counselling will be available in Whitehorse, as well as in Carmacks from April 17-19 and April 22-23, and Pelly Crossing from April 10-12.
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