NDP Leader Tom Mulcair lays wreath at site of Saskatchewan school shooting

LA LOCHE, Sask. – Federal NDP Leader Tom Mulcair has paid his respects in La Loche, Sask., on the same day a funeral service was held for two teenage brothers killed in a recent mass shooting.

Drayden Fontaine, 13, and Dayne Fontaine, 17, were fatally shot Jan. 22 in a home in the small Dene community before the shooter moved on to the area high school.

Teacher Adam Wood, 35, and teacher’s aide Marie Janvier, 21, were also killed and seven others were wounded.

A 17-year-old boy, who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.

Mulcair was joined by NDP MP Georgina Jolibois, the town’s former mayor.

The two laid a wreath outside the school.

“My friend Georgina Jolibois said it would be an appropriate day to come and be in the community and show support and understanding and share our condolences in the wake of this horrible tragedy that’s affected everyone in the community,” Mulcair said.

“My real focus here is to make sure the people understand that they’re not alone, that they have a lot of people in the rest of Canada who share in their pain, that we want to make sure the services are there for the future.”

On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in La Loche and called for all levels of government and indigenous leaders to work together.

Going a step further, Mulcair said he is looking for an inter-party approach to long-term solutions for the underserved north in the wake of this tragedy.

“There are issues that require attention, whether they be education, health care, social services. We know, tragically that in the north suicide rates are many times higher than in the rest of Canada. That’s an issue calling out for a solution. And the solution has to come with more resources and the resources will come when governments realize that that need is a responsibility of all levels.”

(CTV Saskatoon, CJLR)