Deaths of 3 Dehcho residents have MLAs demanding an investigation

CBC

07-03-2025

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Three people from the Dehcho under the age of 50 have died in circumstances that were highly preventable, according to their families and N.W.T. politicians.
Wesley Marcellais, 44, Hilary Norwegian, 34, and Avery Burke, 6, all died within the first six weeks of 2025. Their families say their treatments are examples of substandard health care for Indigenous people.
A motion that MLAs passed at the legislature on Thursday calls for the territory's health minister to appoint an investigator to look into the deaths. Kate Reid, the MLA for Great Slave, brought forward the motion. She said it speaks to inequity in the territory's health-care system.
"These three individuals did not have to pass away. If the system worked properly we would not have these highly preventable deaths," she said.
"These communities feel that the system does not care for them. They feel that they are not important. They simply want access to appropriate care and want to be taken seriously in times of emergency."
The motion also calls for the minister to table any recommendations the investigator finds along with a plan to address them. Health Minister Lesa Semmler extended her condolences to the families and recognized their need for answers.
"I completely understand the desire to know why it happened and most importantly, what we as a health-care system can learn from these tragedies so we can create meaningful change and do everything possible to prevent other families from experiencing this kind of heart-breaking loss," she said.
Semmler said that since the motion makes a recommendation to government, that she and her cabinet colleagues would abstain from the vote. But, she said, it's important that the government use every tool to improve patient safety and accountability in the healthcare system.
"I want to assure the families and communities affected that their voices matter and that these tragedies will not be ignored."
Semmler said the incidents are being investigated through the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services' quality assurance framework to improve care in the health system, but that the investigation MLAs are calling for could happen simultaneously.
The N.W.T.'s coroner is also investigating the deaths.
'We're not set up here'
In some small communities, Reid pointed out there are health cabins that are scheduled to have visits from a nurse or sometimes a doctor once a month, if weather allows for them to travel.
"If the weather does not co-operate, communities can go months without seeing a nurse," she said.
Kakisa is one of those communities. It often relies on medical services from Fort Providence or Hay River — about 70 kilometres and 135 kilometres away, respectively.
Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation Chief Lloyd Chicot said that means residents of Kakisa could be waiting hours for help.
"We've had to take matters … into our own hands." he said.
Chicot pointed to a recent situation where he said community members used oxygen from a fire truck to help a woman having a heart attack until an ambulance arrived. He said sometimes community members start driving patients down the highway to meet an ambulance.
"We're not set up here in the community to deal with a lot of those emergencies," he said.
Medevac escorts
The motion was part of a larger discussion about equitable access to healthcare in smaller communities. Many of those communities rely on medevacs to hospitals in regional centres in the N.W.T. or to Edmonton for treatment.
MLAs passed another motion Thursday calling for escorts for medevac patients.
Kieron Testart, the MLA for Range Lake, brought that motion forward and said medical staff themselves say patients in critical care need the support of loved ones to navigate unfamiliar cities, understand paperwork, and to provide emotional and cultural support.
"This is about compassion, it's about doing the right thing, and it's why we're here," said Inuvik MLA Denny Rodgers who supported the motion.
Semmler said medical transports don't support escorts for safety reasons because they need space in the vehicle or aircraft to care for the patient. She also said it's important to ensure public funds are focused on delivering essential health services.
The government has 120 days to respond to both motions.