'We deserve to live': Hundreds gather to mourn mother of 4 killed in The Maples

Hundreds gathered to mourn a mother of four killed in The Maples on the weekend, and her aunt and others called for more action to protect Indigenous women from violence.

Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, Tessa Perry's aunt, said it was beautiful how many people were there to support the family.

"It's a clear indication of how much love Tessa was surrounded by in her life, so it was very powerful," Anderson-Pyrzsaid at the vigil atMarlow Court near Inkster Boulevard.

"The loss of Tessa is very devastating to her family, and especially her children.Everybody is very heartbroken."

Perry, 31, was foundinjured from an assault in a home in the areaon Saturday and died in hospital. Justin Alfred Robinson has since been charged with second-degree murder and one count of failing to complywith a probation order.

Perry is the third First Nations woman to be killed in the city in the past two weeks.

Anderson-Pyrz, Perry's aunt,is an advocate for families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and chairs a families and survivorscircle working on anational action plan for MMIWG.

She said the loss of her niece, Doris TroutandRebecca Contois in such a short period is not only devastating on a community level, but it also creates fear and retraumatizes those who have lost loved ones to violence.

"Being an Indigenous woman or girl or two-spirited and gender-diverse people, you're afraid," she said.

There seems to be very little action on the 231 calls for justice from the final report of the national inquiryinto missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls,Anderson-Pyrz said.

"With such a lack of action, it really diminishes the hope of families and survivors who participated in the process and told their truths," she said.

"The violence is increasing so there needs to be immediate action. Canada has a responsibility and they must act."

Anderson-Pyrz said the result of theinaction is murder.

"You're so frustrated bythe lack of change," she said.

"I honestly cannot answer why the government will not accept the findings of genocide. I think they're afraid of the truth."

NDP MLANahanni Fontaine(St. Johns) said the government has done less than the bare minimum to protect the Indigenous community.

"It's not enough for a government to say, like, 'We care about Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited, we believe in the national inquiry's calls to action.' And yet, you're not putting measures in place that give women a space to be safe."

Fontaine said among other changes, governments need to expand funding for safe shelter spaces.

Darryl Contois, who was at the vigil and who knew Rebecca Contois,runs the Evelyn Memorial Search Team, which is dedicated to searching for missing people.

"It's a hard thing to do," he said. "I go out thereand give it my all.Sometimes the outcome is not good."

Contois said it's important for people who witness domestic violence to do something about it.

"Say something. You're the voice for that person even if they can't talk out of fear," Contois said.

Jo Seenie, who has helpedsearchfor missing Indigenous women and girls,has two family members who are missing and her father was killed.

Seenie spoke and sang a woman warrior song at the vigil.

"We deserve to live, we deserve to raise our children, we deserve to raise our grandchildren," Seenietold the crowd.

"Don't be afraid to stand up. Never be silenced. We deserve to live. Never be scared to speak up. Don't let anybody oppress you, don't let anybody hold you back from speaking truth."

Hundreds gather to mourn Tessa Perry

2 years ago

Duration 1:33

Hundreds gathered to mourn Tessa Perry, a mother of four killed in The Maples on the weekend. Her aunt and others called for more action to protect Indigenous women from violence.