One year after the suicide of Curtis McKenzie at Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples is calling for systemic change to Canada’s correctional system. McKenzie was a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. The Congress says he took his own life after many attempts to seek help from Correctional Services Canada.

Congress Vice-Chief Kim Beaudin says, “The Province of Saskatchewan has not provided any updates on their internal investigation into Curtis McKenzie’s death. His family and friends deserve closure on his death, and we should not be in the dark on the circumstances that allowed for this happen.” She says, “The trend of Indigenous Peoples being abused by the corrections system is nothing new, and I have had numerous families reach out regarding similar failures.”

The Congress says last year, Indigenous musician Jonathan Wayne Lee Anderson died from his injuries following his suicide attempt at the Edmonton Remand Center. In the last week, CAP says it has heard from Prisoners’ Legal Services on violence directed towards Nick Dinardo, a member of the Piapot First Nation while undergoing treatment at Shepody Healing Centre in New Brunswick.

CAP is calling on the Province of Saskatchewan to update the public on their inquiry into the death of Curtis McKenzie. But it says that correctional reform is needed across Canada to prevent more avoidable loss of life.