Deaths of Indigenous people in Atlantic Canadian jails spark calls for review, change

Groups in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are calling for Indigenous-led inquiries after the deaths of First Nations people in provincial jails. Lawyer Emma Halpern with the Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia represents the family of Sarah Rose Denny, a 36-year-old Mi’kmaq woman who died in custody on March 26. Halpern says Denny died in hospital of pneumonia after being transferred from the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility. She is calling on behalf of the family for the Nova Scotia government to launch a Mi’kmaq-led inquiry into Denny’s death. In New Brunswick, the Wolastoqey Nation wants the province to launch an Indigenous-led inquiry into systemic racism in the justice system after the conclusion of an inquest into the death of 28-year-old Skyler Sappier-Soloman. The province ordered an inquest…

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