The site of a makeshift memorial for La Loche shooting victims on Feb. 24, 2016. Photo by Chelsea Laskowski
The Mayor of La Loche is giving his perspective on the mental health supports offered since the mass shooting in January.
In the months since students and hundreds of La Loche residents trekked across town to reclaim their school after the shooting that claimed four lives and injured seven people, MP Georgina Jolibois has spoken up multiple times in parliament and with the media to put pressure on the government.
That story came out on Monday, and on Wednesday La Loche’s current mayor – who replaced Jolibois in the role when she was elected federally – released a statement.
Kevin Janvier thanks her for her comments, but instead of being critical of either the province or feds, he says La Loche is appreciative of ongoing work and supports from the province.
For example, Jolibois says La Loche’s people are tired of repeating their stories to visiting mental-health workers. Janvier directly addresses that in his statement, saying in recent weeks he asked the province to provide continuous support from mental health counsellors. In effect, Janvier says there is a better flow of files and information flow between mental health support.
“We have seen a great improvement in that area in terms of children not having to retell their story to a new person each week,” he wrote.
Janvier says positive long-term solutions that can be used for all northern communities are going to take work between the feds, the province, the MP, and others.
In fact, in Janvier’s statement, he invites Jolibois to meet with town council to discuss issues she raised.