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Family, advocates reflect 10 years after death of Tina Fontaine

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WINNIPEG – When Elroy Fontaine thinks about his older sister, Tina Fontaine, his mind takes him to a park in Winnipeg’s Point Douglas neighbourhood.

It’s where the two would sometimes hang out together.

A decade after the tragic death of the 15-year-old girl, one that shocked the country and was the catalyst for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, Elroy Fontaine still stops by the special spot.

The siblings spent time in provincial care but would see each other during scheduled visits that included Slurpee runs and park hangs.

“She would sometimes take me out away from the visits … she let me play at the park,” said the 18-year-old.

“Tina would be very protective and motherly.”

Saturday marks the 10-year anniversary of the day it’s believed the girl from Sagkeeng Anicinabe Nation died.

Elroy Fontaine plans to honour the day by hosting a candlelight vigil where Tina’s body was discovered.

The girl had disappeared into the streets of Winnipeg, before her small, weighted-down body wrapped in plastic and a duvet cover was pulled from the Red River on Aug. 17, 2014.

Tina was raised by a great-aunt for much of her life but had been living in a Winnipeg hotel under the care of child and family services. She was reported missing a week before her body was found.

The following year, police charged a man with second-degree murder in her death. A jury found Raymond Cormier not guilty in 2018.

Tina’s death marked a turning point in how society treated and viewed missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Advocates and family members, who had long been calling for political action to address staggering rates of violence against Indigenous women and girls, raised their voices even louder and demanded change.

“When my sister became a poster child and there were rallies and it became national, I think it opened a lot of people’s eyes,” said Elroy Fontaine.

“It’s sad it had to take someone’s life for people to realize.”

Shortly after Tina’s body was discovered, a huge crowd marched through Winnipeg’s downtown demanding justice.

Manitoba’s advocate for children and youth, Sherry Gott, remembers the day clearly. She was a social worker at the time.

“The walk was truly so quiet, and yet there were hundreds of people there. I was shocked like everyone else and outraged.”

In the days, weeks and months that followed, there was change on different levels.

Public pressure forced the province to stop using hotels as placements for youth in care.

The Indigenous-led safety group Bear Clan Patrol re-emerged to canvass Winnipeg streets for missing Indigenous people.

The federal Liberal government, under newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, committed to a national inquiry. It published its final report in 2019, including 231 calls for justice.

Some advocates say Tina’s death brought more awareness but they still see children and youth being sexually exploited.

The advocate’s office completed an investigation into the services Tina received and issued recommendations for provincial bodies. While some have been completed, the challenges seem to persist.

“We’re not seeing real change on the ground at the systemic level,” said Gott.

Advocates say Winnipeg is still considered ground zero for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, while Indigenous children and youth continue to be disproportionately represented in the child welfare system.

Over the last year, Gott’s office has seen three young people who were sexually exploited die from drug poisoning. This further underscores the need for the provincial government to develop a co-ordinated response for mental health, addictions and abuse, she said.

“They need to show moral courage and make this a priority and respond to the kids that are falling through the cracks.”

Shanlee Scott says she sees it every day.

Scott is executive director of the resource centre Ndinawemaaganag Endaawaad, which operates Tina’s Safe Haven, named after Tina Fontaine.

The drop-in centre works with youth who have no place to stay, no way to access mental health supports or health care and have been deprived of cultural connections.

The organization partners with therapy groups and Indigenous health providers to address the gaps in care.

“Tina’s (Safe Haven) isn’t enough … Tina’s is serving an immediate need. It is not a long-term solution,” said Scott.

Gott said she’d like to see a third-party review of Tracia’s Trust, the province’s sexual exploitation strategy launched in 2008, and for the government to release a plan on how it aims to address the national inquiry’s calls for justice.

Cabinet ministers Bernadette Smith and Nahanni Fontaine, who are Indigenous, addressed the anniversary earlier this week, saying the NDP government is committed to adhering to the recommendations from the national inquiry and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

They pointed to the government’s Matriarch Circle to assist in the work and a grant program in partnership with the Winnipeg Foundation to support families of the missing and murdered.

“We all have a responsibility. It’s not just governments. It’s not just police. It’s a society issue,” said Smith, whose sister Claudette Osborne-Tyo disappeared in 2008.

The ministers said the government plans to release its strategy on missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people this fall.

Meanwhile, Elroy Fontaine finds solace in knowing his sister’s legacy lives on.

“It helps a lot to know that there’s still supporters … she’s not forgotten.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2024.

— With files from Steve Lambert

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Allen nets shutout as Devils burn Oilers 3-0

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EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.

Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.

The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.

Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.

TAKEAWAYS

Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.

Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.

KEY MOMENT

New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.

KEY RETURN?

Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.

OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN

The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.

The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.

UP NEXT

Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Mahomes throws 3 TD passes, unbeaten Chiefs beat Buccaneers 30-24 in OT

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.

DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.

Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.

Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.

Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.

It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.

The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.

Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.

Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.

The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”

Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.

The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.

Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.

UP NEXT

Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Chiefs: Host the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

AP NFL:

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NHL roundup: Kuemper helps visiting Kings shut out Predators 3-0

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.

Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.

Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.

Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.

Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.

The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.

Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:

DEVILS 3 OILERS 0

EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.

Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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