Memorial for Tina Fontaine by the shore of the Red River (APTN Photo Sept. 2014)
Dennis Ward
APTN National News
WINNIPEG — A make-shift memorial set up for slain Winnipeg teen Tina Fontaine will be closed to the public and moved.
In a release, the city of Winnipeg said it will be putting up barricades around the Alexander Dock where the memorial currently sits.
Officials said an engineering report found that the largely wooden dock is unsafe and is in need of a rebuild and for safety reasons, the barrier will prevent public access to the riverbank.
Fontaine’s body was pulled from the Red River, near the Alexander Dock Aug. 2014.
Her killer has not been found.
Fontaine was last seen in a downtown area of Winnipeg on Aug. 8.
She was reported missing on Aug. 9.
On Aug. 17, police were called to the Alexander Docks where Fontaine was found in a bag in the river.
Even Winnipeg police were emotional about the murder.
“She’s a child. This is a child that’s been murdered. Society would be horrified if we found a litter of kittens or pups in the river in this condition. This is a child,” Winnipeg police Sgt. John O’Donovan told reporters. “Society should be horrified.”
Days later, 1,000 people gathered on the docks for a vigil to the 15-year-old.
Her death renewed calls for a national inquiry into the staggering number of Indigenous women that have gone missing or have been murdered in Canada.
The Harper government has not budged its position that an inquiry will not accomplish anything.
According to the city, officials are talking with Chief Derek Henderson of Sagkeeng First Nation, 120 kilometres north of Winnipeg and Fontaine’s home community, are discussing how the memorial will be respectfully relocated to an accessible and appropriate site prior to the barricade being installed.
The Alexander Docks …
The group says the closure of the dock could force them to launch their boats from a different location on the river.
There is no timetable to move the memorial.
The Alexander Docks sit in a remote section of downtown Winnipeg.
@dennisWardNews
