First Nation state of emergency: ‘It’s about time’

 By John Chilibeck  Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Deidra Paul-Brooks has seen first hand how hard drugs have devastated her Indigenous community on Fredericton’s north side. That’s why she supports the decision by the chief and council of Sitansisk (St. Mary’s First Nation) to declare a state of emergency earlier in the week. “It’s about time,” she said Thursday afternoon, as she smoked a cigarette on the stoop of her sister’s home on Gabe Acquin Drive. “The state of emergency shows that they care about the community and the people in it, especially the children. I struggled with all that stuff growing up, so I know what it’s like.” The council says it acted quickly in the wake of a public outcry on Sunday evening that led to hundreds of people…

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