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
Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, Canadian Cancer Society says
The Canadian Cancer Society says all provinces and territories should lower the starting age for breast cancer screening to 40.
DEVELOPING Live updates as Stormy Daniels testifies at Trump hush money trial
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal's capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.
Canadian-Israeli man shot dead in Egypt; claim links killing to Gaza
A Canadian man 'of Jewish Israeli descent' has been shot dead in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in a suspected criminal case, a security source said, while a previously unknown militant group said it carried out the attack in reaction to the war in Gaza.