Family and lawyers look back on 10 years since Tina Fontaine’s death

When Elroy Fontaine thinks of his older sister, Tina Fontaine, his mind goes to a park in Winnipeg’s Point Douglas neighborhood.

It was the place where the two sometimes hung out together.

Ten years after the tragic death of the 15-year-old girl, which shocked the country and sparked a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, Elroy Fontaine still visits this special place.

The siblings spent time in a county shelter, but saw each other during scheduled visits, including Slurpee runs and park trips together.

“Sometimes she would take me out for visits… she would let me play in the park,” the 18-year-old said.

“Tina would be very protective and motherly.”

Saturday marks 10 years since the girl from the Sagkeeng Anicinabe nation passed away.

Elroy Fontaine plans to celebrate the day by holding a candlelight vigil at the site where Tina’s body was found.

The girl had disappeared into the streets of Winnipeg before her small, weighted body, wrapped in plastic and a bed sheet, was pulled from the Red River on August 17, 2014.

Tina was raised by a great-uncle for much of her life, but lived 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 perceived missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Advocates and family members, who had long called for political action to address the staggering levels of violence against Indigenous women and girls, raised their voices even louder, demanding change.

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

“It’s sad that it had to cost someone’s life for people to realize this.”

Shortly after Tina’s body was discovered, a large crowd marched through downtown Winnipeg to demand justice.

Manitoba’s child and youth advocate Sherry Gott, a social worker at the time, remembers the day well.

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

In the days, weeks and months that followed, change occurred on many levels.

Under pressure from the government, the province was forced to stop using hotels as shelters for young people in youth care.

The Indigenous-led security group Bear Clan Patrol once again hit the streets of Winnipeg searching for missing Indigenous people.

The federal Liberal government, under newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, committed to a national inquiry. In 2019, it published its final report, which included 231 calls for justice.

Some activists say Tina’s death has raised awareness, but they still see children and young people being sexually exploited.

The law firm completed an investigation into the services Tina received and made recommendations to county agencies. While some have been completed, challenges appear to persist.

“We don’t see any real change on the ground at a systemic level,” Gott said.

Advocates say Winnipeg remains considered an epicentre of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, while Indigenous children and youth remain disproportionately represented in the child protection system.

In the past year, Gotts’ office has seen three young people who were sexually exploited die from drug poisoning, underscoring the need for the provincial government to develop a coordinated response to mental health, addictions and abuse, she said.

“They need to show moral courage, make this a priority and respond to the children who are left behind.”

Shanlee Scott says she sees it every day.

Scott is the director of the Ndinawemaaganag Endaawaad ​​information centre, which runs Tina’s Safe Haven, named after Tina Fontaine.

The drop-in centre focuses on young people who have no shelter, no access to mental health care or support and who are deprived of cultural contacts.

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

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

Gott said she would like to see an independent review of Tracia’s Trust, the provincial strategy to combat sexual exploitation launched in 2008, and for the government to publish a plan on how it plans to address the national inquiry’s calls for justice.

Cabinet ministers Bernadette Smith and Nahanni Fontaine, both of Indigenous descent, spoke at the commemoration earlier this week. They said the NDP government would abide by the recommendations of the national inquiry and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

They pointed to the government’s Matriarch Circle, which could help them with the work, and to a grant program in partnership with the Winnipeg Foundation to support families of missing and murdered persons.

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

The ministers said the government plans to publish its strategy for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people this fall.

Meanwhile, Elroy Fontaine finds comfort in the knowledge that his sister’s legacy lives on.

“It helps so much to know that there are still people supporting her… she is not forgotten.”

— With files by Steve Lambert