New street name added in Timmins to honour Indigenous mother’s memory
May 5 is National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit people.
To raise awareness about the significance of the day, a gathering of about 50 members of Fort Albany First Nation, Timmins officials and invited guests formed at the Vipond Road and Moneta Avenue intersection to honour the memory of Bernadette Sutherland.
Sutherland was the mother of 11 children who left an unhealthy domestic relationship in Fort Albany First Nation to find a better life for her and her children in Timmins.
But she was killed in 1986. It’s a harsh reality her children have endured, but now they seek closure.
“It brought so much, you know, so much trauma … we're still healing -- it's still ongoing,” said Virgina Sutherland, Bernadette’s daughter.
“In terms of closure, this is just the start of closure for myself anyway.”
The road naming is a gesture by the City of Timmins and officials said it will help highlight the history of missing and murdered Indigenous persons and spark more action to reduce the statistics.
“We need to gather and support and meeting face-to-face really goes a big step to that connection, to the storytelling and supporting each other because there are so many relations across this land and it's really, really beautiful to see this,” said Deputy Chief Terry Metatawbin of Fort Albany First Nation.
o Download our app to get local alerts on your device
o Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
“You know, it's a reminder … for all levels of government to support, you know, continue to fund these initiatives because it's a long journey to healing … and my hope is with this initiative, for more initiatives to come,” Sutherland added.
Officials estimate Canada has 4,000 missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit persons.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
WATCH Why today's inflation numbers are good if you have a mortgage
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
Conservatives kick off return to House with new call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign
Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives returned to the House of Commons on Tuesday with a renewed call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign, this time over 'very partisan' and 'inflammatory' language used to promote an upcoming event.
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Nestle to sell $5 pizza, sandwiches in the U.S. for Wegovy, Ozempic users
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
How much more Canadian consumers are paying, compared to this time last year
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.