Verdict from Inquest into the death of Ruthann Quequish

 

The Inquest into the death of Ruthann Quequish shone a light onto the severe lack of adequate health care available in Kingfisher Lake First Nation.

Just like other remote First Nations, Kingfisher Lake has limited doctor days in the community, not enough nurses, communication barriers between medical providers, and a significant shortage of accommodations for medical providers in the community. These are just a few of the challenges that the Jury flagged as needing improvement following the three-week Inquest into Ruthann’s passing.

Edwards Bell Jewitt LLP was honoured to represent Kingfisher Lake First Nation and Shibogama First Nations Council at the Inquest. We commend the family of Ruthann Quequish for their courage and strength of conviction in bringing this situation to light.

The verdict and full list of the Jury’s recommendations is here:

QUEQUISH verdict-recs redacted EN

A summary of the Inquest can be found here:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/ruthann-quequish-inquest-verdict-recommendations-1.7296735