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Asked why he decided to call for the joint inquest now, McCallumtold CBC News he had received a request from legal council for theNishnabe Aski Nation (NAN) and after reviewing the files "feltthere were common elements in the cases and obviously a populationthat's vulnerable so I felt that was a reasonable request." While he wouldn't get into details that might be common amongindividual cases, McCallum said the primary thread was the factthese "are First Nation youths who leave their home communities toreceive an education. They're in a situation where they're isolatedfrom their own communities, and they have passed away incircumstances that are similar, in that there are obviouslycomplications involved. "And I felt that those factors all require a public hearing toelucidate them and understand them and hopefully makerecommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths in the future,"McCallum said. He would not specifiy when the inquest might take place. Demanding answers Many of their families, as well as leaders of the NAN, whichrepresents 49 northern aboriginal communities, have been demandinganswers about the deaths, questioning whether they were suicidesthat could have been prevented, or whether they might have beenhomicides. "It was just a really quick answer we got that he died fromdrowning," Dora Morris told CBC News in May , 2011, recalling the2000 death of her nephew Jethro Anderson, 15, from Kasabonika LakeFirst Nation. He was in Thunder Bay attending high school. "I never believed he died from drowning, because of the suspiciousmarks he had on him. He had a mark from the top of his head down tothe middle of his forehead. It looked like he had a blow on hishead," she said. She and members of other students' families want to know howThunder Bay police probed the disappearances and deaths. "They be telling me 'no' or 'he's just out there partying like anyother native kid.' Those are the kind of comments I was getting,"Morris recalled when her nephew was reported missing in the fall of2000. His body was recovered months later from the McIntyre River. Many of the teens' bodies were found in rivers near Thunder Bay,including the McIntyre River and the Kaministiquia River. Theirdeaths were chronicled recently by CBC's the fifth estate , which intends to rebroadcast its documentary investigation thisweekend. The program will appear on CBC News Network at 8 p.m. ET Sunday,June 2, and 7 p.m. Sunday. It will also be aired on the main CBCnetwork at 11 a.m. ET and 11 p.m. Sunday, June 3. Beyond the police response, the inquest is expected to examine thesocial isolation and loneliness of the students in an educationsystem that sees teenagers billeted away from home. It is also expected to probe the social and emotional supports forthe aboriginal students in a federally funded high school systemthat receives roughly half the per-capita funding that atraditional Ontario public high school would receive. "There are a lot of unanswered questions, apprehension and even asense of fear in terms of this happening again," Terry Waboose,deputy grand chief of NAN, told CBC news in an interview Thursdayin Thunder Bay. "That's what motivated us to seek answers. There'sbeen a lot of speculation and the sense that seven deaths undersimilar circumstances is more than coincidence." Six of the seven students who died attended Dennis FranklinCromarty School in Thunder Bay, which has since taken steps toacquire more funding and implement better support mechanisms forteenaged students attending from far away communities. The schoolhas not had a death since 2009. The most recent teen to die was Jordan Wabasse, 15, from theWebequie First Nation, who attended the Matawa Learning Centre inThunder Bay. The alternative high school program run by a localtribal council was in its first two years of operation when Wabassewas reported missing in February 2011. His body was found May 12, 2011 in the Kaministiquia River. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Feed Mixing Machine Manufacturer , Pellet Screener, and more. For more , please visit Hammer Mill Machine today!
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