Anger, but not surprise, greets verdict in Tina Fontaine case

People in Ottawa are expressing angerbut not surpriseafter a jury in Winnipeg rendered a not-guilty verdict in a case that sparked a national outcry about the disappearance and murderof Indigenous women and girls.

Itwasn't surprise,it was disappointment. It was anger.- Tanya Fawn Locke

Raymond Cormier, 56, was acquitted Thursday in the death of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine, whose body was found in the Red River in August 2014. The verdict cameless than two weeks after Saskatchewan farmer Gerald Stanley was found not guilty in the shooting death of another young Indigenous person, Colten Boushie, 22.

"I felt numb," said Carleton University anthropology professor Zoe Todd about the Cormier verdict. "I didn't really expect there to be justice in this case, but it still hurts nonetheless when it isn't served.

"Everything that happened to Tina was a travesty. The social [workers] failed her, the police failed her, the courts have failed her. So, it's up to us to make sure she's not failed,"said Todd, who is ofMtisheritage.

Tanya Fawn Locke can relate toFontaine'sexperiences as a ward ofManitoba's Child and Family Services. Fawn Locke wasa ward of the Crownin Ottawa, and believes the system failed the teenager.

Protest on Parliament Hill

"It wasn't surprise, it was disappointment. It was anger," said Fawn Locke, whois co-organizing a protest on Parliament Hill Friday.

Fawn Lock said Indigenous victims are toooften treated like criminals, particularly on social media. The recent verdicts have only exacerbated that, she said.

"With the not-guilty verdict one of the messages that comes from that is, your life is not important."

At the same time, many turned to social media to express their outrage and disappointment over the Cormierverdict.

For DavidCharette, these stories resonate on a a very personal level. His sister, Cheyenne Fox, 20, died when she fell from the 24th-floor balcony of a building in Toronto in 2013. Her family believed she was murdered but Toronto police ruled her death a suicide.

"Indigenous peopledon'tmatter to the world," Charettesaid.

Within moments of hearing of the verdict in Fontaine's death, Charette decided to organize a call to action. Both he and Fawn Locke want the familiesof victims to know they're not alone, and thatthe community stands in solidarity with them.

"We're still strong and we're still here and we need to be recognized as a people," Charettesaid.

The protest is set to take place at 5:30 p.m. in front of Centre Block.