A “sick” Innu youth, a critical lack of housing, an unsuitable curfew: the public inquiry into the death of Raphaël “Napa” André focused Tuesday on the causes leading to the man’s death in a chemical toilet in January 2021.
After a week’s break, the hearings were to resume with the testimony of the deceased’s mother. However, it had to be postponed since the plane which was to bring it from Schefferville suffered a breakdown.
The testimony of the Chief of the Council of the Innu Nation Matimekush-Lac John, where Raphaël André came from, was therefore anticipated.
Visibly very emotional, the elected official’s voice broke as soon as he arrived at the microphone. Réal McKenzie first recalled the racism experienced by the Innu of Shefferville since the arrival of white people in the region, following the first iron deposits, in the 1940s.
A reality inseparable from the social difficulties still experienced today by some of his people, he told the coroner, Me Stéphanie Gamache.
“Everything I say has to do with Raphael’s tragic death. Perhaps he experienced racism, as a homeless person, in Montreal. I testify here with a lot of hurt, but a lot of hope too,” declared Chief McKenzie, specifying that he did not know Raphaël André personally.
Describing his role as leader as that of a “doctor, a psychologist, a priest”, depending on the situation, Réal McKenzie then spoke of the consumption problems experienced by many young people in his community.
“Youth is sick. And that is my responsibility. I can’t save everyone, I’m not the good Lord, but they will get through this. We have hope,” he argued.
In covert words, Réal McKenzie criticized the way in which the situation of Raphaël Napa André was handled, a few hours before his death. The man found himself on the street after having had to leave the shelter where he was, the La Porte Ouverte center, on the evening of April 17, 2021. It had to close at 9 p.m. due to the rules imposed during cover -fire.
“Could one more person have been saved if we had forgotten the rules, if he had been able to lie on the ground? “, he asked himself.
During the following testimony, Dr. Stanley Vollant, also of Innu origin, directly pointed to the establishment of a curfew during the pandemic as a factor that contributed to the death.
“To close the centers [for the homeless], to establish a curfew, I told myself that there could be negative consequences. I didn’t think it would happen this quickly,” he said.
Comments supported by the testimony, in the afternoon, of a speaker responsible for supporting indigenous people experiencing homelessness for the organization Médecin du monde. “There are lots of people that we didn’t see anymore and that we met regularly previously. It’s a reality that we lost contact,” said J.S., who knew Raphaël André.
Dr. Stanley Vollant continued by recounting that he had also met Raphaël André on a few occasions. He also walked hundreds of kilometers with his parents during a major march during which he joined several indigenous communities, as far as Kuujjuaq, in Northern Quebec.
“We suffered from the cold, but for his parents, that their son died of cold, in the middle of an urban area, in a chemical toilet, with houses around, it made no damn sense,” he said. he explained to the coroner.
To explain the deceased’s exodus from his community, Dr. Vollant mentioned housing problems. A situation that is not unique to Matimekush-Lac John as the birth rate of First Nations is three to four times higher than that of the Canadian population, he stressed.
“People will move to the city hoping to find a better situation and that’s rarely the case. It is very difficult for a native to find accommodation there. “It’s one of the factors that contribute to [indigenous] homelessness in Montreal,” he explained.
The public inquiry continues on Wednesday until June 14.
