'It needs to be done': Grieving woman welcomes inquest into Whitehorse shelter deaths

A loved one of a woman who died at the Whitehorse emergency shelter is welcoming the chief coroner's call for a public inquest. 

"It needs to be done, it needs to be looked at," said Karen Nicloux, who was very close to Josephine Hager, one of the four people whose deaths will be the focus of the inquest.

"How many more people have to die?"

Set for the spring, the inquest will examine the facts and circumstances surrounding four deaths at the shelter in the last two years, but the jury will not make any finding of legal responsibility. 

Besides Hager, whose death was reported in February, the deceased include Cassandra Warville, 35, and Myranda Tizya-Charlie, 34, who died in January 2022 of what the coroner found to be the result of toxic illicit drugs, and Darla Skookum, 52, whose death was reported on April 16.

According to Chief Coroner Heather Jones, three of the deaths happened at the shelter, while the fourth person was declared dead at Whitehorse General Hospital after being taken there from the shelter by ambulance. 

"I'm very relieved," said Nicloux of the upcoming inquest, "and very proud that, you know, we have a coroner like Heather [Jones] in the Yukon. " 

Jones told CBC News she has been in contact with the families of all those who have died, adding that she is aware of a total of seven deaths in the past couple of years associated with the shelter.

She said differences in some of the deaths led to her not including all seven in the upcoming inquest. But for all families, she said, "the pain is raw and emotions are far-reaching." 

For Nicloux, it's high time to shine a light on what she sees as many problems associated with the shelter.

"We have some very vulnerable, traumatized people and they're not addressing the problem," she told CBC. 

"You know, the one thing that really upsets me the most — and I have empathy, but you know — Alpine Bakery shuts down and then the government is all in an uproar, right? Because the business closed down," she said, referring to a downtown business that recently closed, citing the neighbouring shelter as the reason.

"But how many people died at that shelter, and people that access that shelter to pick up their drugs and to drink openly? And the government didn't do anything, and all of a sudden the business shuts down and the world has come to an end."

The shelter is low-barrier, meaning it does not require people to be sober to access services. This is one of Nicloux's major concerns.