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To think that Tina was only our age when she died is heartbreaking. She had her whole life ahead of her but she thought that she was ready to tackle the world at 15. It hurts to hear that the one thing she wanted the most cause her to end up where she is. I don't know the full story but if only her mother put in some effort into caring for Tina maybe her situation could have been avoided.

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It is crazy to hear that,  “In Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Indigenous children represent a shocking 73 per cent, 85 per cent and 87 per cent of all children in care respectively, according to the most recent Statistics Canada report.” Tina is one of many indigenous people who lost her father and Mother and had to live with her grandmother. As Tina lost her life at such a young age it made many people start reflecting on actions they have to take to make this world a better place to live in. Although something that’s not right is how it took the death of a young teenager to open peoples eyes. I hope that no one will have go through what Tina and her family did. I also believe that there was absolutely no justice for Tina’s family.

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These violent acts should be addressed by the Canadian government. This grave situation of missing aboriginal women is being shown through the media worldwide. I hope that no more people have to experience what friends and family of Tina had to. It should not take the death of a young aboriginal girl to open the eyes on many on this tragic situation.

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I think Tina’s case was not rightfully executed and that her case did not end in justice for her, her family or Indigenous people. The police or the doctors that took care of her after being found intoxicated should have done something to find her parents or somewhere “safer” for her to go home to. Although the man who was acquitted is part of her case that was left unjust, the people who could have interfered in the situation before she was murdered are also to blame. The policemen who left their post did the right thing by “quitting” although that doesn’t fix or make the fact that they left her right. The government trying to help find all these Indigenous women who are missing and murdered is a great thing and should hopefully help fix the situation it’s just unfortunate that it took this many women who have been missing and/or killed to start something like this.

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The devistating situation based on Tina Fontaine death is considered not fare. Even though having an argument with someone may be hard, you should always talk it out and not just run away because it makes the situation worse. Murder in general is not right under any circumstance, though knowing her age about 14 and dead in the river really comes to people and shows how it can happen to any child. Many people can think about many things that could have happened on why this happened but knowing that she is aboriginal it adds on because knowing the large amount of women who are were in the same position really sparked the situation. Therefore, it is really sad that a young indigenous child had to be killed for people to actually realize how much this is a serious cause.

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Public services should prioritize the safety and protection of all children despite everything else. Tina could’ve been saved if social services kept her there instead of having her leave and face danger. Each person is a soul and a body. No labels should be attached to that

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The status of family is unnatural. The concept of having a family is rare and unfamiliar to many aboriginal children. They all have a mother and father but they might not live up to the role. They are left alone and it’s disturbing. It’s disgusting that so many kids are dropped so easily by their parents. The familial conception is so slim and something must be done.
T. Thibault

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Tina Fontaine was a young indigenous girl who was murdered and disposed of horribly. The lack of care and responsibility taken by authorities should be recognized. She was a troubled teen in need of help and care, and was not given it no matter how bad her situation got. Eventually Tina was murdered and her body was found in a river a couple of days later. In my opinion, justice was not served for Tina. If she had been treated properly and with respect she could still be alive.

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An article that examines whether there was enough evidence in the case against Mr. Cormier.

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There was no justice for Tina’s murder. The fact where Tina’s body was found covered in a duvet blanket inside a garbage bag weighed under rocks in a river is in humane. I think there should be a further investigation until they find the person who murder Tina so he/she can get punished, and get what they deserve. Race should not influence anything in the court, this murder should not be forgotten.

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Dalia: It is shocking how 48% of the children in foster care are indigenous. I believe that Tina's murder was unacceptable and that this tragedy should not be repeated. I hope the police will solve this case and punish the person who committed this crime. Justice deserves to be served for Tina. 

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Dalia: It is shocking how 48% of the children in foster care are indigenous. I believe that Tina's murder was unacceptable and that this tragedy should not be repeated. I hope the police will solve this case and punish the person who committed this crime. Justice deserves to be served for Tina. 

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The percentage of children in foster care (T. Thibault)

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The percentage of children in foster care (T. Thibault)

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The status of family is unnatural. The concept of having a family is rare and unfamiliar to many aboriginal children. They all have a mother and father but they might not live up to the role. They are left alone and it’s disturbing. It’s disgusting that so many kids are dropped so easily by their parents. The familial conception is so slim and something must be done.

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A statistic that stuck out to me in an article form CBC was that 2/3 of homocide victims in 2014 were aboriginal. This fact is even more disturbing as only ~4% of Canadians are aborigina, yet they account for over 60% of homocides. This is clearly a growing problem that needs to be not only addressed, but dealt with as well to ensure that this doesn’t occur again.

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I think that when the police found Tina drunk on the street they should have brought Tina back to her great aunt’s home which could have prevented her murder. I believe the police should partially be blamed for Tina Fontaine’s murder due to the fact that their job is to protect people in society and by leaving her on the street is completely doing the opposite of that. When Tina was found drunk, the police should have know better and should have kept her safe which could have saved her life. Tina was a young child and she didn’t deserve to be murdered.

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A quote that stuck with me is when someone said , "I think it was a moment in our collective history where people didn't just see it as an indigenous issue...". I think this statement proves that people are now recognizing indigenous murders not as a specific case or problem but as a murder that should be dealt the same as every other murder case without any exceptions or racial discrimination and with respect to the women or children that were victims.

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After reading several articles it seems that the case of Tina Fontaine is still open leading to suspicion that they are either closing in on a suspect or that they are trying to gather enough information to satisfy the family and the public, with the fact that the case is unsolvable no matter the amount of evidence gathered it is insufficient to convict anyone. After serious review; it is seen that the law and people working in the public system hold prejudices that affect the way cases are treated seen with Tina when the interventions with the police and hospital as well as social services all let her go even though they saw she was vulnerable and in an unsafe mindset, which ultimately led to her being taken and later murdered. The minorities in our communities are ignored by those that have taken an oath to protect us, Canadians, not just white Canadians. Hopefully something can be done before the end of our lifetimes because if this is still a problem then as good samaritans and as good Canadians we have not done enough to better our communities.

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The following quote from a CBC article entitled “ Injustice is an Idigenous Way of Life” really stuck with me: “Fontaine's body was discovered in Winnipeg's Red River in 2014. Her 72-pound frame had been wrapped in a duvet cover and weighed down with rocks. She was 15 when she was killed”. This intense extract from the article clearly paints a picture of Tina’s murder scene. It’s heartbreaking to think that a girl my age was brutally murdered like this. I think that justice wasn’t obtained for her and that this is a failure of the child welfare system. Aboriginal children are overrepresented  in the foster care system. However, they do not receive equal treatment. For example, when Tina was found drunk on the streets of Winnipeg, the authorities returned her to her hotel room (keep in mind she was only 15). If they had kept her and called in a guardian, maybe events would’ve turned out differently. Thus, I believe that authorities should make some changes to these systems in order to improve the quality of life of aboriginals in our society.

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I personally find it tragic that 48% of all children in the foster system in Canada are indigenous. It makes me wonder how many of them are there because one or both of their parents were murdered. Tina Fontaine would have probably been I’m the system if it weren’t for her great-aunt. I also find it upsetting that it took so many lives before awareness and justice could start and spread.

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Alina - Public services’ role in protecting Aboriginal children 

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Alina - Public services’ role in protecting Aboriginal children 

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Public services such as law enforcement and social workers should prioritize the protection and safety of the children before anything else. There was a possibility of keeping Tina before she met any sign of danger. Public services should also remain free of bias and focus on protecting each person as an individual body and soul, free of any labels.

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The devistating situation based on Tina Fontaine death is considered not fare. Even though having an argument with someone may be hard, you should always talk it out and not just run away because it makes the situation worse. Murder in general is not right under any circumstance, though knowing her age about 14 and dead in the river really comes to people and shows how it can happen to any child. Many people can think about many things that could have happened on why this happened but knowing that she is aboriginal it adds on because knowing the large amount of women who are were in the same position really sparked the situation. Therefore, it is really sad that a young indigenous child had to be killed for people to actually realize how much this is a serious cause.

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I disagree with the way the court dealt with the case since he did commit the crime but he was acquitted. This brings no justice to Tina’s family and the people around her. Acquitting him shows that they are not trying their best to stop what is happening in these indigenous society’s and acquitting him only motivates other people to do what that cruel man did to her. People deserve some sort of justice for a crime so horrible. Not only that but the social workers who were taking care of her should have been more protective of her and after they saw that she kept running away they should have done something about it like by finding her a stable home for the time being.

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I believe that this could've been avoided if Tina's family was more present/caring — not that this justifies her being murdered, but I do believe that if her mother went after her the day Tina decided to run away, then maybe this wouldn't of happened.

On a whole other note, I'm still confused on how she ended up dead in the river? I hope the police get to the bottom of this case and find justice for Tina and the other aboriginal women and girls who have gone missing or have been killed.

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The concept of family is distroyed for most aboriginal children. The familial status is a small percentage of the child’s life; everyone has a mother and father, but not all have someone to fulfill the role. Many arguments, conflicts and outrage happen in these families due to personal reasons as well as high levels of in toxicity, drug use, etc... Tina Fontaine has an argument and was put into the social services care. She had family, but to her, it was destroyed.

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Mickaela Di Paolo - Aboriginal Women & Vulnerability

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Mickaela Di Paolo - Aboriginal Women & Vulnerability

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Acts of violence can be committed for any number of reasons, but it is often found that these perpetrators target the weakness and vulnerable. Recent statistics from Radio Canada International show that aboriginal women are sigificantly higher than those of non-aboriginal females.

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Indigenous Children in Foster Care

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Living arrangements of Aboriginal children aged 14 and under

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This study uses data from the National Household Survey (NHS) to examine the living arrangements of Aboriginal children aged 14 and under, and includes results about the proportion of Aboriginal children who lived with lone parents, with their grandparents, or in a stepfamily. The study also provides key statistics about Aboriginal foster children.

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Globe and Mail 2011

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From Foster Care to Missing and Murdered --a Macleans' Article

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From Foster Care to Missing and Murdered --a Macleans' Article

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"Although Indigenous children make up only seven per cent of the population in Canada, they represent 48 per cent of all children in foster care. It is an astounding number until one examines these rates on a province-by-province basis. In Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Indigenous children represent a shocking 73 per cent, 85 per cent and 87 per cent of all children in care respectively, according to the most recent Statistics Canada report. "

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been taking a great deal of heat over the Liberal government's recent approvals of Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline and Enbridge's Line 3 pipeline, while TransCanada continues to pursue the Keystone XL and Energy East projects. These decisions have inspired major media attention, political debates, litigation, and on-the-ground protests because of their inherent threats to the health and well-being of people, land, water, plants and animals. But there's another pipeline that's arguably more lethal than those that carry oil and gas, but gets far less attention from the media or politicians: the pipeline from Canada's foster-care system to murdered, missing and exploited Indigenous women and girls.

The increasing number of First Nations children being placed into foster care in Canada is nothing short of a crisis. Although Indigenous children make up only seven per cent of the population in Canada, they represent 48 per cent of all children in foster care. It is an astounding number until one examines these rates on a province-by-province basis. In Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Indigenous children represent a shocking 73 per cent, 85 per cent and 87 per cent of all children in care respectively, according to the most recent Statistics Canada report. However, Manitoba reports that their numbers of Indigenous children in care are increasing and currently stands at 90 per cent, which represents one of the highest rates in the world. This isn't much of a surprise given that one newborn is taken away from his or her mother every day in Manitoba as a matter of course-the vast majority being Indigenous. They are not the only provinces implicated as Indigenous children in Ontario are 168 per cent more likely to be taken into care than white children.

What is surprising is that neither federal or provincial governments seems to have learned from their disastrous policies and practices of the past. The report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) detailed the many horrors faced by Indigenous children who were stolen from their families and forced into Indian residential schools where many were starved, beaten, raped, subjected to medical experimentation, and tortured; ultimately, more than 6,000 children died. As residential schools started to close, however, the federal government paved the way for child welfare agencies in the provinces to continue the assimilation project of separating Indigenous children from their families. The removal of 20,000 Indigenous children between the 1960s and 1980s-now referred to as the "'60s Scoop"-found those children taken out of their communities by the busloads and placed for adoption in non-Indigenous families in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., often without parental consent. The '60s Scoop became a market for the advertising, buying and selling of Indigenous children-an act that many of the victims consider to be human trafficking.

Canada has since apologized for the devastating impacts of residential schools on many successive generations of Indigenous families. In 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that "it was wrong to forcibly remove children from their homes and we apologize for having done this," and acknowledged that the objectives of residential schools "were based on the assumption Aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said, 'to kill the Indian in the child.' Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country." More recently in 2015, former premier Greg Selinger offered an official apology on behalf of the province of Manitoba for the '60s Scoop, admitting that the removal of Indigenous children from their families "was a practice that has left intergenerational scars and cultural loss." But there are three times more Indigenous children in care today than there were during the height of residential schools. And most Indigenous children are taken into care for reasons of neglect and structural factors beyond the parents' control, like conditions of poverty and poor housing, and less likely than non-Indigenous children to be taken into care for reasons of physical or sexual abuse. Apologies mean very little if the practice continues, and in the case of Indigenous children, the practice of separating Indigenous children from their families is getting much worse.

Residential schools, the '60s Scoop and the current foster care crisis have and continue to result in the loss or severe diminishment of Indigenous cultures, languages, identities, family ties, and a sense of belonging. The forced disconnection from one's family, community and culture are considered to be root causes of depression and suicide amongst Indigenous peoples. However, the added suffering from mental, physical and sexual abuses resulting from these assimilatory policies and practices can also result in inter-generational trauma and post-traumatic stress disorders. Recent research also indicates that even children not directly impacted by these policies are at significant risk of depression and symptoms of trauma given their close contact with impacted parents. What awaits Indigenous children forced into the foster care pipeline can be just as horrific as the worst of residential schools.

Indigenous peoples are grossly over-represented in prisons. While only 4 per cent of the population, they represent 24 per cent of federal inmates, while Indigenous women represent 34 per cent; those rates have increased by 84 per cent since 2003. The Office of the Correctional Investigator has noted the legacy of residential schools and the child welfare system as primary root causes. Approximately one-fifth of all Indigenous peoples in prison have attended a residential school and a staggering two-thirds were involved in the child welfare system when they were children, having lived in adopted homes, foster homes, or group homes. The high rates of Indigenous children in care parallel the high rates of Indigenous children in youth detention centres. Child welfare is a pipeline to prison for Indigenous peoples generally, but for Indigenous women and girls specifically, child welfare is also a pipeline to child exploitation, sex trafficking and murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls.

MORE: Prisons are the 'new residential schools'

Indeed, Indigenous women and girls are seven times more likely to be targeted by serial killers, and experience seven times the homicide rate as non-Indigenous women; there are as many as 4000 murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls in Canada. While the national inquiry is set to begin on May 31, one of the priority subject areas will be the link between foster care and murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls. And rightly so: Indigenous girls in foster care have become targets for sexual predators who use the foster care system for easy access, and a recent report from British Columbia found that Indigenous girls are four times more likely to be victims of sexual violence while in foster care. Nearly two-thirds of child sexual assault victims in foster care were Indigenous girls, and in many cases social workers did not report the abuse to police, paving the way for it to continue.

Tina Fontaine is one of many examples of Indigenous girls from the child welfare system who become victims of sex violence and/or trafficking once they are separated from their families and communities and sent to live in hotels in urban cities. Tina ended up murdered despite being in contact with child welfare, medical personnel and police officers in the hours before her death-none of whom protected her and or returned her to safety. These girls are often unsupervised and easy prey to pimps and johns, and in some cases, even become victims of sexualized violence from government officials, including prison guards, police officers and judges. Recent evidence shows that half of the victims of human trafficking within Canada are Indigenous women and girls and many come from the child welfare system. The women and girls being trafficked in Canada are sold to doctors, lawyers, teachers, police officers, judges and soldiers-making this a societal problem and not one that can be blamed on the victims.

In the U.S., 60 per cent of child sex trafficking victims come from foster homes or group homes, and it is expected that the national inquiry will discover similar levels in Canada. The over-representation of Indigenous children in foster care has become a pipeline to suicide, prison, sexual exploitation, and those who are murdered or go missing. It makes no sense for federal or provincial governments to apologize for past policies and practices if they continue today at even higher rates. Dr. Cindy Blackstock, who heads the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society won a human rights claim against Canada at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) which found the federal government discriminates against First Nations children in care through underfunding, simply because they are Indigenous. It is long past time that governments-independent of residential school settlements, '60s Scoop litigation, or the national inquiry-set up a specific plan of action to end the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in foster care. The fact that Trudeau continues to ignore compliance orders issued by the CHRT to address the discriminatory underfunding should be viewed as a crime.

The lives of Indigenous children literally hang in the balance. They are the most vulnerable in Canadian society and they face significant risks in foster care. We owe them more than a future apology. They deserve our action and protection-right now.
Pamela Palmater is a Mi'kmaw citizen and member of Eel River Bar First Nation. She has been a practicing lawyer for 18 years and currently holds the Chair in Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University.

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From foster care to missing or murdered: Canada's other tragic pipeline - Macleans.ca

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been taking a great deal of heat over the Liberal government's recent approvals of Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline and Enbridge's Line 3 pipeline, while TransCanada continues to pursue the Keystone XL and Energy East projects.

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"Does that mean that we have to put someone in jail whether or not we have evidence that they did it? I don't think that's justice for Tina."

"I think the focus needs to be on making sure that our system," he said, "which is largely the same as it was when she was found in 2014, isn't creating more Tinas."

"This is multiple failures of the child welfare system, we have to make sure that doesn't happen again."
--Scott Newman, a defence attorney

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Story transcript
The not guilty verdict in the murder trial of Tina Fontaine shouldn't be a surprise, according to one advocate, because the justice system consistently fails Indigenous women.

"Injustice is a way of Indigenous life in Canada," said Niigaan Sinclair, an associate professor in the Department of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba.

Sinclair has been supporting Fontaine's family through the trial.

"This case was about something much larger than in the courtroom," he said, "this is about the treatment of young Indigenous women."

"This is about the way that 150 years of policy put Tina in that moment, and put her in a violent situation."

Fontaine's body was discovered in Winnipeg's Red River in 2014. Her 72-pound frame had been wrapped in a duvet cover and weighed down with rocks. She was 15 when she was killed.

Raymond Cormier was found not guilty of second-degree murder on Thursday.

It was the one case where we thought: 'Here is the quintessential example of a victim, in every single way. Surely, surely she will get justice.' - Nahanni Fontaine, Manitoba's NDP justice critic

The case garnered national attention - part a broader conversation about missing and murdered women in Canada.

Fontaine's death became a symbol for the entire conversation, a beacon of the dismay felt by Indigenous communities losing loved ones.

"This was a case that in many respects offered some semblance of hope and faith in the justice system for Indigenous peoples," said Nahanni Fontaine, Manitoba's NDP justice critic.

Nahanni Fontaine, who is no relation to Tina Fontaine, has worked to bring attention to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

"It was the one case where we thought: 'Here is the quintessential example of a victim, in every single way. Surely, surely she will get justice.'"

"Unfortunately that is not what we have seen with this, and that is why this is so important."

What does justice look like?

The case against Raymond Cormier was always very thin, said Scott Newman, a defence attorney, with "little in the way of direct evidence."

Newman is the spokesman for the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba; he pointed out that forensic evidence left a "gaping hole in the case."

"There are a number of DNA cuttings taken from the blanket that was wrapping Tina," he said, "and there were a number of different hairs that were seized, and when those were DNA tested they definitively excluded Mr. Cormier."

The Crown's case included wiretap evidence. Police recorded 62 interactions with Cormier, including one that was presented in court as a confession.

"It was Mr. Cormier saying I'll make you a bet: Tina died because of a reason," he said, "and the defence quite rightly said: 'Well why would you need to make a bet if this was a confession?'"

"'If this is the individual saying: "I killed Tina Fontaine," why would he say I'll make you a bet, she died because of a given reason,'" Newman said the defence argued.

"That doesn't make a lot of sense in terms of an alleged confession."

Newman pointed out that taking five or six clips out of 10,000 recordings risks clouding the context.

"You've got to remember Mr. Cormier was a poorly educated individual, rambling, high on meth a lot of the time, quasi-homeless, [with] mental health concerns."

"When you take an individual who's got those particular vulnerabilities - who might not make a lot of sense on his best day - to take disconnected comments out of context really pushes the bounds of belief and credibility and rationality to say: 'These are clearly confessions.'"

Newman thinks the ruling was "the just and correct decision based on the evidence that was presented to court."

"I think you have to look at what the definition of justice for Tina means," he said.

"Does that mean that we have to put someone in jail whether or not we have evidence that they did it? I don't think that's justice for Tina."

"I think the focus needs to be on making sure that our system," he said, "which is largely the same as it was when she was found in 2014, isn't creating more Tinas."

"This is multiple failures of the child welfare system, we have to make sure that doesn't happen again."

What if the roles were reversed?

"The reason why it's the same system yesterday as it is today," Sinclair argued, "is because that is the exact same system that puts Indigenous children and young girls and women in these situations involving violence."

"And then at the end of the day, even though you know in any other case involving any other Canadian there is a motive and a means, that would be enough."

"But in this case somehow it's not enough, because it's an young Indigenous girl," he said.

Ministers have relayed their sympathies to Fontaine's family.

Carolyn Bennett, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, said in a statement:

"We need to examine all the factors that lead to these violent acts, including policing, child welfare, healthcare and the social and economic conditions. As a society we can and must do better to improve outcomes for Indigenous girls and women."

My deep sympathy to Tina Fontaine's family and community. Tina's story shows our failure to protect the safety &amp; well-being of Indigenous children. We're working together on major reform of the child welfare system. We must do better. Justice and our common humanity demand it. <a href="https://t.co/MYk3IMKwtb">https://t.co/MYk3IMKwtb</a>
&mdash; @janephilpott

Nahanni thinks that the verdict, along with the recent verdict related to the death of Colton Boushie, is part of a historical pattern where "Indigenous people's access to justice is somehow less than the rest of Canadians."

"If the scenario were reversed," she asked, "if this was a 15-year-old girl who was raped, who was murdered, who was wrapped up, who was thrown in the river, weighted down by rocks - if this was a non-Indigenous girl murdered, and the accused was an Indigenous man, I ask and I pose the question: what would be the response?"

"I suggest to you that the response would be entirely different than what we're seeing."

"It is actually even difficult for me to say it out loud, but it is a question that we have to pose, and it is an uncomfortable question and an uncomfortable experience that we as Canadians have to explore."
Listen to the full conversation at the top of this page, where you can also share this article across email, Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. This segment was produced by The Current's Karin Marley, Vancouver Network Producer, Anne Penman, and Winnipeg Network Producer, Suzanne Dufresne.

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Injustice is a way of Indigenous life, say advocates dismayed at verdict in Tina Fontaine murder trial | CBC Radio

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Story transcript The not guilty verdict in the murder trial of Tina Fontaine shouldn't be a surprise, according to one advocate, because the justice system consistently fails Indigenous women. "Injustice is a way of Indigenous life in Canada," said Niigaan Sinclair, an associate professor in the Department of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba.

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An Opinion Article on Why Our Two Case Studies Reflect Racism in the Canadian Court System

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An Opinion Article on Why Our Two Case Studies Reflect Racism in the Canadian Court System

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Raymond Cormier has been acquitted of the murder of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine, a member of the Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba.

This verdict comes almost two weeks after Saskatchewan farmer Gerald Stanley was acquitted of murder for the shooting death of a 22-year-old Cree man named Colten Boushie.

Having two such verdicts come so close together has been enough in itself to fan resentment amongst Indigenous Peoples.

There are, however, specific reasons for Indigenous people to see both verdicts in the worst light possible.

Juries are frequently skeptical of defences based on an accidental misfiring of a gun. Yet Stanley was acquitted, even though the Crown expert and numerous experts since then have said a "hang fire" could never result in a delay longer than a fraction of a second.

In many other cases, as well as empirical mock jury studies, juries will convict the primary foundation for the prosecution's case if the accused verbally admitted to the crime.

That holds true even when the defence was able to show that police coercion may have been a factor in the procuring of the statement, or when the accused had alternative motives for making the statement.

An example of the latter is when the accused admits a past murder to police officers pretending to be gangsters as part of a Mr. Big sting, where the motivation was to avoid losing a beneficial criminal lifestyle provided by the officers.

Cormier made several statements to private citizens where, in my opinion, he all but outright said he killed Tina Fontaine, although the defence offered a different interpretation. And yet we see an acquittal in this case.

The dialogue around the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women has to this point focused on the investigative stage of the criminal process.

Amnesty International's Stolen Sisters report condemned police forces in several cases for not taking reports of missing Indigenous women seriously and displaying a lack of diligence in cases of Indigenous murder victims in comparison to non-Indigenous victims.

Matters are different with the Tina Fontaine case.

The Winnipeg Police Service cannot be faulted for the diligence with which they investigated Tina Fontaine's death.

The Stanley and Cormier verdicts have brought a different part of the criminal process into glaring focus, at the conclusion of a trial and when a jury makes a factual determination of guilt or innocence.

Questions are being raised around the extent to which the verdicts are grounded in racism against Indigenous people.

The very legal structure surrounding Canadian juries can at once invite speculation and suspicions as to the merits of their verdicts, and at the same time fully prevent any proof or verification thereof.

Jury deliberations are kept absolutely secret, and can never become the basis of an appeal of a verdict. Jury members also can never speak of their deliberations afterward, and certainly not publicly. To do so is to risk conviction for contempt of court.

There are sound reasons for jury secrecy. It's meant to create a safe space for juries to deliberate on the evidence and reach what jurors consider an objective verdict free of any public condemnation or pressure.

And yet that same space can also give juries free rein to indulge in what is known as jury nullification. That term describes a jury properly understanding the law and the evidence before them, and yet rendering a verdict grounded in sympathy or prejudice at the expense of objectivity.

I am inclined to view the two verdicts in this manner, although I admit I cannot prove my viewpoint.

If I had taken bets prior to these cases, I would have always bet on the accused verbally admitting to involvement in a crime leading to a jury conviction. I would always bet on the jury not buying the accidental misfire defence. I would fully expect to win both bets.

However, these cases have convinced me that I would need to completely change my bets, at least in cases where the victim is Indigenous.

I find it quite concerning when the victim being Indigenous is by itself enough to make me reverse my bets, and yet I would still make the same bets as before if the victim were not Indigenous.

It also raises the question of whether we need to change the law to make jury deliberations accessible and a possible basis for appeal. I raised the question earlier with reference to the Gerald Stanley verdict. The Raymond Cormier verdict has now convinced me that the question cannot be avoided.

The notion of eradicating the safe space that juries have traditionally enjoyed may certainly be controversial.

And yet consider the implications if we preserve the status quo.

It is easy to say that these are only two cases that by themselves do not demand fundamental change.

What if subsequent developments prove otherwise? What if juries continue to acquit those accused of murdering Indigenous victims in circumstances that would otherwise bring convictions?

Were there cases like these beforehand that we may not be aware of? For example, there were no arrests for the murder of Helen Betty Osborne in 1971 because residents of The Pas, Man., knew who the killers were and yet did not value the life of an Indigenous woman enough to report what they knew to the police.

What if in subsequent years these patterns continue?

Jury nullification can become a ripe field for substantive injustice. If Canada allows such a phenomenon to continue without any action or reform, it amounts to Canada condoning racial injustice as a matter of policy.

The tough questions cannot be avoided any longer.

The sentiment " Black lives matter" was a reaction to several instances of American police officers using lethal force in questionable circumstances against black suspects. Indigenous peoples want Canada and its justice system to realize that their lives matter too. They are asking questions about to what extent the justice system is taking Indigenous victimization seriously, and what value the Canadian legal system places on their lives.

Indigenous communities are certainly now of the feeling that Canadian juries are giving a free pass for murder against Indigenous victims.

And indeed, if we expect acquittals to be the standard outcome in cases of Indigenous victims where we should otherwise expect convictions, how can Indigenous Peoples be faulted for their resentments?

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Opinion: The Tina Fontaine and Colten Boushie cases illustrate the racism in Canada's courts

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Raymond Cormier has been acquitted of the murder of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine, a member of the Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba. This verdict comes almost two weeks after Saskatchewan farmer Gerald Stanley was acquitted of murder for the shooting death of a 22-year-old Cree man named Colten Boushie.

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An Inquiry into how Child and Family Services handled Tina Fontaine's is Schedule to be Released

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An Inquiry into how Child and Family Services handled Tina Fontaine's is Schedule to be Released

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Previously this information could not be released tot he public but a new law in Manitoba has made this possible.

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WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government committed late Monday to releasing a report into how child welfare workers dealt with Tina Fontaine before the teenager disappeared, died and was dumped in the Red River.

READ MORE: How the tragic death of Tina Fontaine helped spark the MMIWG inquiry

A law that forbids the provincial children's advocate from publicly releasing special investigation reviews into child deaths will be changed very soon, Families Minister Scott Fielding's office said.

"The minister commits to releasing it and says proclamation (of a new law) is imminent," Fielding's press secretary, Andrea Slobodian, wrote in an email.

Tina Fontaine ran away from a Winnipeg hotel where she was being housed in August 2014. She was 15 years old.

The Indigenous girl's body was found nine days later in the water, wrapped in a duvet cover and weighed down by rocks. The man accused of killing her, Raymond Cormier, was found not guilty last week.

Daphne Penrose, the province's children's advocate, said her office has reviewed files and looked at what services were provided to Tina.

"The investigation is almost complete. We do have a little bit more work to do on it," Penrose said Monday.

But under current Manitoba law, Penrose cannot release her findings publicly. A bill passed in the legislature last year would allow her to do so, but the provincial government has yet to enact it.

Earlier Monday, the Progressive Conservative government would not commit to a time frame for enacting the law.

Cormier's second-degree murder trial heard details of the final weeks of Tina's life, but did not delve into the way social workers handled her case.

Tina was raised in a stable home with her great-aunt, Thelma Favel, on the Sagkeeng First Nation, 120 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. She left to visit her mother in Winnipeg at the end of June 2014 and became an exploited youth.

READ MORE: Professionals tried to warn Tina Fontaine about potential harm

Favel called Child and Family Services with concerns about Tina, and Tina ran away repeatedly from a youth shelter and hotels where she was placed.

She was last seen leaving a downtown hotel, where she told the private contract worker employed by child welfare that she was going to a shopping centre to meet friends.

In a brief written statement, Manitoba's family services department would only say a review of the case by the regional Southern Child and Family Services Authority "found that standards and protocols were met."

The children's advocate's office, an independent body of the legislature, is expected to delve into more detail in its report.

Some Indigenous leaders and opposition politicians are demanding a full public inquiry into the case - a broad, systemic hearing open to the public and media with witnesses testifying under oath.
WATCH: Tina Fontaine's great-aunt talks about police making arrest in murder case
"I think we need to look at ... why this little girl was failed on so many levels and how do we prevent this from happening in the future," said Opposition NDP families critic Bernadette Smith.

"I think we need a public inquiry ... because it would highlight the services that were meant to keep (Tina) safe, where they failed, and how things could be different going from here on," said Sheila North, grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, which represents First Nations in the northern part of the province.

The idea of releasing children's advocate reports was recommended by the last public inquiry into the province's child welfare system - a 2013 report on Phoenix Sinclair, a five-year-old girl who was beaten to death by her mother and her mother's boyfriend after social workers closed her file.

The inquiry report by retired Justice Ted Hughes urged Manitoba to follow British Columbia in allowing the release of special reports into children's deaths by the advocate.

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Government to release review of how CFS handled Tina Fontaine

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WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government committed late Monday to releasing a report into how child welfare workers dealt with Tina Fontaine before the teenager disappeared, died and was dumped in the Red River.

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"I think it was a moment in our collective history where people didn't just see it as an indigenous issue..."

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Raymond Cormier, 53, charged with murder in Tina Fontaine death

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Just days after the Missing and Murdered inquiry became a reality. An arrest in the murder case of the girl who helped launch it. Sixteen months ago, on the shore of a Winnipeg river.

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" Justice for Tina, he concluded, cannot come at the expense of justice for Mr. Cormier."

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" Justice for Tina, he concluded, cannot come at the expense of justice for Mr. Cormier."

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- Tony Kavangh, Mr. Cormier's defence lawyer.

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The case that became a catalyst for Canada's national inquiry on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls ended in an acquittal in Winnipeg on Thursday.

For a second, silence filled the ornate, marble courtroom in Winnipeg's downtown law courts building after Raymond Cormier was found not guilty of second-degree murder in the death of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine, who was found dead in Winnipeg's Red River in August, 2014.

Then Thelma Favel, Tina's great aunt, who raised her from the age of three, began quietly sobbing.

"My baby," she said. "My baby. My baby. Oh, my little girl."
Opinion: Even after death, Canada denies Tina Fontaine dignity From the archives: Fontaine anniversary a reminder trauma begets trauma Read more: Missing and murdered indigenous women: A primer
Arm in arm, the First Nations leaders in the room, including Kevin Hart, Manitoba regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and Arlen Dumas, Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, formed a tight circle around Ms. Favel. Nahanni Fontaine, the provincial NDP's justice critic and an advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women, held Ms. Favel. Someone began reciting the Lord's Prayer.

Tina's mother, Valentina Duck, walked out, turning to Mr. Cormier and screaming: "You think you're going to get away with this?"

One juror began crying. None looked at Ms. Favel.

Mr. Cormier, a 56-year-old from New Brunswick with at least 92 previous convictions, had been charged with second-degree murder. Tina, a member of the Sagkeeng First Nations, was found dead in Winnipeg's Red River on Aug. 17, 2014, near the city's core. She was in a fetal position, dressed in pink high-top sneakers and a green fleece. Her body was shrouded in plastic and a duvet cover, weighed down by about 11 kilograms of rocks.

The death also became a flashpoint for relations between Winnipeg's Indigenous people and the wider community: It exposed the city's dark underbelly, the systemic failures and racism that allow First Nations children to fall through cracks.

The acquittal comes just two weeks after the not-guilty verdict in the trial of Gerald Stanley, accused of killing Colten Boushie. The composition of the jury for the Stanley trial - in which the defence used peremptory challenges to exclude potential jurors who appeared to be Indigenous - became the focus of widespread anger. Jury composition was not a point of contention in the Cormier trial.

The Crown, Mr. Cormier's defence team and Mr. Cormier all chose not to comment after the verdict on Thursday.

The Winnipeg court heard from Ms. Favel that Tina left Sagkeeng, 115 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, on June 30, 2014, to spend a week with her mother. It was her reward for an exceptional report card from École Powerview, her new, off-reserve school, where she had just finished Grade 9. Ms. Favel had been caring for Tina and her sister Sarah, one year her junior, since they were 3 and 4 in her home in Powerview-Pine Falls, just beyond Sagkeeng's northeast border. Eugene Fontaine, the girls' father, who Ms. Favel also raised, left them in her care after he was diagnosed with cancer.

In 2011, Mr. Fontaine, who called Tina his "little monkey," was murdered. Tina "didn't know how to function" without him, Ms. Favel testified. So she agreed to let her spend time with her mother, who had been largely absent from her daughter's life, hoping the familial bond might help.

When Tina did not return after a week in the city, Ms. Favel called police and Manitoba's Child and Family Services, which later took the girl into care. She went missing several times, jurors were told, spending a few nights in a youth shelter and surfing couches.

The court heard that Tina met Mr. Cormier one night in July, when he rode past on a bike, carrying a muffler. Tina's friend Cody Mason testified that he met Tina when he was 18, on the Slaw Rebchuk Bridge after being taken to Winnipeg from the St. Theresa Point First Nation for treatment after a car accident. Both were new to the city and they began seeing each other. Mr. Cormier gave the pair "gabbies," slang for the anti-epileptic drug gabapentin, which produces a high in large quantities.

Mr. Mason said that when they told Mr. Cormier they had nowhere to go, he took them to the basement of a home where they could sleep, returning the next morning with money for food. Mr. Mason told the court they saw Mr. Cormier, who sometimes used the name Sebastian, another four times.

When Mr. Mason flew home on Aug. 6, Tina rode her bike to Mr. Cormier's in tears. Witnesses testified Mr. Cormier tried to grope Tina's breast. "Just do me," one told the court she heard him say to the young girl. Later that night, she yelled at him when she found out he had sold her bike for marijuana and threatened to report Mr. Cormier for stealing a truck.

She made the call to police, recorded at 10:18 p.m., two days before she disappeared, which helped lead officers to Mr. Cormier. It was played in court, providing one of the trial's more wrenching moments. Ms. Favel broke down as Tina's voice echoed around the courtroom.

"Hey, um, I'd like to report a stolen truck," she tentatively begins, telling police her friend Sebastian had stolen a vehicle.

The danger the Anishinaabe teen faced alone in a large city she did not know was underscored in the testimony of Robert Sango, 64. The North End Winnipeg resident told the court Tina approached him a few days before she went missing and asked for a cigarette. She began crying as soon as her fingers touched the cigarette, Mr. Sango told the court. She was homeless, had no money and nowhere to go, she said through tears. Mr. Sango said he warned her never to talk that way because it would make her vulnerable to predators.

Before leaving, Tina shook Mr. Sango's hand: "I remember her teeny, little hand - it was so small. So tiny. She said her name was Tina."

On Aug. 8, 39 days after arriving in the Manitoba capital, she vanished.

On the last day Tina was seen alive, she was stopped by police at 5:05 a.m. in a vehicle driven by Richard Mohammed, a man in his 30s who told the court he had been "looking for a girl to hang out with." Two officers arrested Mr. Mohammed for driving with a suspended license. They let Tina, who first gave them the name Tessa Two Hearts, go off alone, even though she had been flagged as missing. (The constables, Brock Jansen and Craig Houle, were suspended when the matter came to light. Both have since resigned. Mr. Houle, who ran a check on Tina's name, testified he believed she had been flagged "previously missing.")

At 10:30 that morning, a security guard called 911 after Tina was found asleep behind a car in a downtown lot, disoriented, her legs covered in mosquito bites. Paramedics took her to Winnipeg's Children's Hospital; at 3:30 p.m., she was discharged to the care of a Child and Family Services worker.

The last known sighting of Tina was at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 8 at the Charterhouse Hotel, one of several used to house teens in care. Tina was reported missing that night after failing to make curfew.

Although three witnesses testified that Mr. Cormier owned the same kind of duvet cover as the one in which Tina's body was found, no forensic evidence links him to it or Tina's body. Pathologists could not determine the cause of her death and there was no sign of sexual assault, stabbing or blunt-force trauma.

The Crown built its case around statements made by Mr. Cormier that were secretly recorded during a six-month undercover operation. In one, Mr. Cormier is heard arguing with a woman and saying that there was a little girl in a "grave someplace screaming at the top of her lungs for me to finish the job. And guess what? I finished the job."

Prosecutor Jim Ross contended that Mr. Cormier had sexual intercourse with Tina, later killing her after she threatened to report him for statutory rape."You all know who that little girl is," he told the jury. "You know what the job is."

The recordings often had music in the background, and Mr. Cormier has an Acadian accent and a stutter, all of which made it difficult to hear what was said clearly.

His lawyer, Tony Kavanagh, reminded jurors in his closing remarks that at no point does he admit killing the teenager.

"No crime scene was ever found," he added. Tina "could have overdosed at a drug house or with a john." Justice for Tina, he concluded, cannot come at the expense of justice for Mr. Cormier.

After the verdict was read, Grand Chief Dumas told reporters: "Make sure you hug your kids when you get home. Hug them tight, and say a prayer for Thelma."

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Missing, mourned, unresolved: Cormier's acquittal leaves Tina Fontaine's family searching for answers

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The case that became a catalyst for Canada's national inquiry on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls ended in an acquittal in Winnipeg on Thursday. For a second, silence filled the ornate, marble courtroom in Winnipeg's downtown law courts building after Raymond Cormier was found not guilty of second-degree murder in the death of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine, who was found dead in Winnipeg's Red River in August, 2014.

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Statistics from the RCMP

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Indigenous Women and the Penitentiary System

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Indigenous Women and the Penitentiary System

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This infographic displays the statistics surrounding indigenous women and the prison system.