Onigaming First Nation chief says paramedics refused to come into community while man overdosed – APTN News
Sep 16, 2022
The Ontario government and Kenora district have launched an investigation into the incident.
Jeffrey Copenace, chief of Onigaming First Nation in northern Ontario is calling out the Kenora Central Ambulance Service after he says two paramedics sat at the border of the community and refused to help a man who was overdosing until police arrived.
“Today a young First Nations man died in Onigaming,” Copenace wrote on Twitter. “911 was called. The ambulance parked at the edge of our reserve + wouldn’t come help. As his family provided chest compressions, the paramedics let this young man die. This is racism.”
In a separate tweet, Copenace wrote, “We could see the ambulance from our band office refusing to come help. Everyone in the community could see them sitting there as this young man passed away.”
