Inquest begins into MPP's nephew's death in custody

The coroner's inquest into Kevin Mamakwa's death began Monday in Thunder Bay, Ontario, with testimony from his father and the chief of his First Nation.

Kevin Mamakwa died on June 2, 2020, while in custody at Thunder Bay Jail. The 27-year-old was a member of Kingfisher Lake First Nation, a remote Oji-Cree community about 350 kilometres north of Sioux Lookout. He was also the nephew of Kiiwetinoong NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa.

Jonathon Mamakwa, Kevin's father and the first witness to testify, told the inquest jury he is no longer angry about his son's death but wants to see more mental health and addictions support in correctional settings to prevent similar losses. "I'm holding onto the love I have for my son and I want to place it somewhere," he said. "We don't want others to go through what we went through or what he went through."

Inquests are mandatory under the Coroners Act when a person dies in custody. A jury of five is expected to hear from about 15 witnesses over nine days. The inquest was originally scheduled to begin in January but was postponed due to the sudden death of Kevin's partner, the mother of his four children.

Jonathon told the jury that Kevin was a talented hockey player who quit after being hospitalized following an assault. He later experienced trauma following a violent encounter with a police officer and started drinking in his early teens, eventually turning to drug use. He was receiving suboxone, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder, leading up to his death. His last dose was taken May 14, 2020.

Eddie Mamakwa, chief of Kingfisher Lake First Nation, testified that the community is facing a drug epidemic and has lost many young people to suicide. The community of about 550 people has had a suboxone treatment program for 15 years, he said, but "we have limited resources in our community where we can help our people." Chief Mamakwa spoke of the impact of intergenerational trauma from the residential school system and the Sixties Scoop on his community, and called for treatment options to be made available locally so people don't have to leave to access care.

In an inquest, witnesses provide information about the circumstances of a death, after which the five-person jury identifies who died, when, where, the medical cause, and the means of death. Jurors will classify how the death happened—natural causes, accident, homicide, suicide, or undetermined—and may make recommendations to prevent similar deaths.