Coroner investigating after 2 Inuuk women fatally struck in Montreal while staying at health centre
Quebec coroner Éric Lépine has been assigned to investigate the deaths of two Inuuk women who were killed on Montreal highways in the space of two days.
Both women were staying at the Ullivik health centre after travelling south from northern Inuit communities.
Mary Ninguik is from a village of only a few hundred people and travelled to Montreal to give birth. She is also staying at Ullivik and was saddened to hear that 22-year-old Mary-Jane Tulugak from Puvirnituq and 26-year-old Nellie Niviaxie from Umiujaq were killed on two separate highways in the early hours of Friday and Saturday respectively.
"I heard about it, the first one (Tulugak). I knew her, and she was younger than me, and I've known her since maybe I was 12 or 13," said Ninguik.
CTV News reached out to Ullivik for answers but was directed to the Nunavik Regional Health Board of Health and Social Services (NRHBHSS).
"Although isolated, each case is extremely traumatic for everyone involved," said health board spokesperson Steve Kelly. "Circumstances seem to be very similar to the first one, someone who was residing at Ullivik very temporarily."
Kelly said Niviaxie was accompanying someone who was receiving care.
It is not the first time a person staying at Ullivik has perished while staying at the facility.
In April, a man staying there was killed by a train on nearby tracks, and in 2018 a woman was struck and killed by a truck a few blocks away.
Neither was deemed a crime by police.
Most residents at Ullivik are from small northern communities and face a much different reality when coming south to Ullivik on the side of a major highway in Montreal's Dorval suburb.
"It's different in the village," said Suvaki Tooktoo. "There's no traffic... There's no park space or anything, no shops."
Sources with knowledge of Montreal's Inuit community told CTV News they're concerned about the lack of coordination and services provided at the centre.
The health authority said a stay at Ullivik is similar to a hotel stay, and that they can't force them to stay inside or monitor their activities.
"They're like anyone else staying in a hotel or staying in nearby areas," said Kelly. "We don't have control over their coming and going. We tried to sensitize them about being down south, staying in Montreal, the dangers, so on and so forth, not just in regards to traffic but just the difficulties being in Montreal coming from a northern community."
A spokesperson for Quebec's Minister of Indigenous Affairs Ian Lafreniere, said he has spoken with people at the Nunavik health board.
"I am reassured by the follow-up that will be done directly with Ullivik," said spokesperson Mathieu Durocher in an email.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
AstraZeneca says it will withdraw COVID-19 vaccine globally as demand dips
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a 'surplus of available updated vaccines' since the pandemic.
'Summer of discontent': Federal unions vow to fight new 3-day a week office mandate
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Toronto police seek suspect vehicle after security guard shot outside Drake's mansion
Toronto police are seeking help from the public as they continue to investigate a shooting that seriously injured a security guard outside rapper Drake's mansion.
'Ozempic babies': Reports of surprise pregnancies raise new questions about weight loss drugs
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Seafood, eat food: Calgary Stampede releases Midway menu
The Calgary Stampede has released its menu of sweet, salty and spicy treats available on the Midway for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they've changed their name
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
These snakes not only fake their own deaths, they use gory special effects to do it
Awards season may be over for human actors this year, but there’s no rest for some of nature’s most audacious thespians.