Vigil at Timmins Native Friendship Centre honours missing and murdered women
A 'Sisters in Spirit Vigil' was held at the Timmins Native Friendship Centre on Tuesday to honour the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, two spirit and gender-diverse people.
A sacred fire and healing circle gave people a chance to come together to heal.
"My sister's been missing for the last three days," said Karen Moore of Timmins.
When Moore learned the vigil was happening, she said it was where she needed to be to share that she doesn't know how to find her sister.
She said she might be somewhere in Toronto and hopes to find her.
Officials with the Friendship Centre said it must be acknowledged that 'trap' houses exist in Timmins, where some women are drugged and sexually abused.
“This isn’t (just) something that’s happened, this is something that’s happening and it just looks a lot different and for people, this is very real," said Jaylin Renaud, a healing and wellness coordinator at the Timmins Native Friendship Centre.
In contrast to trap houses, Samantha St. Pierre said she operates a sober living house she calls 'Sam's Place' on Balsam Street in Timmins and she plans to open up two more: one on Fifth Avenue and one in South Porcupine.
"We get the people that nobody wants to rent to and we help them," said St. Pierre.
"Anybody that’s serious about getting clean and sober. Majority of our people right now are Indigenous. I’m Indigenous myself and we welcome anybody."
It's those kinds of community-based solutions that the Timmins Native Friendship Centre wants to hear about. Officials said meaningful change won't happen unless everyone works together.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
BREAKING London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.