SUDBURY -- Ontario Provincial Police Const. Marc Hovingh, who was killed in the line of duty last week on Manitoulin Island, was laid to rest Saturday.
A sunrise service in honor of Const. Marc Hovingh was held Saturday morning by the M’Chigeeng First Nation.
The 52-year-old was one of two officers responding to a property dispute in Gore Bay last Thursday when he was shot and killed alongside 60-year-old civilian Gary Brohman.
An autopsy was conducted in Toronto and Hovingh was escorted back to Manitoulin Island Monday. People lined bridges and roadways to pay their respects to the fallen officer as the procession made its way to northern Ontario.
Const. Hovingh will be laid to rest in a private live-streamed ceremony on Nov. 28. The funeral begins at Manitoulin Secondary School in M'Chigeeng 1 p.m.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, attendance at the funeral service will be strictly limited and by invitation only. Bay Street will be restricted to funeral traffic only.
After the funeral service, the procession will leave the Manitoulin Secondary School and travel on Highway 540 to Little Current and continue on to interment via Highway 6.
Condolences may be left on the OPP website or social media using #HeroesinLife.
A GoFundMe campaign was set up for Hovingh's four children. It started this week and as of Saturday morning, $97,921 of the $100,000 goal was raised in five days.
The province's Special Investigations Unit is still investigating Brohman's death, while the Greater Sudbury Police Service is investigating Hovingh's death.
Watch Saturday's sunrise service by M’Chigeeng First Nation here:
Video footage from the procession that brought Hovingh home to Manitoulin Island:
You are not alone
The news will affect everyone differently, but there is help available so you don't have to suffer alone.
There is grief and bereavement support, as well as two free self-help services: Bounce Back, a telephone coaching program, and an online peer support tool called Togetherall.
Health Sciences North offers a mental health and counselling service for people ages 16 and older that is available in both Espanola and Little Current. The Health Sciences North Espanola office can be reached by at (705)869-1564. The Little Current site is located at the Manitoulin Health Centre and can be reached at (705) 368-0756.
Noojmowin Teg Health Centre provides counselling and psychology services using traditional healing programs to both on-reserve and off-reserve Indigenous residents in the Manitoulin Island area and has several sites around the island. Call (705) 368-2182 ext. 222 for more information.
For those feeling isolated and wanting someone to talk with, the North East Regional WARM Line offers peer support, self-help groups, social, educational and recreational activities to individuals with mental health and addiction issues. Peer counsellors are ready to take your call between 6 p.m. and midnight daily at 1-866-856-9276.
Other mental health or addiction services are available in Manitoulin and Espanola here.
