Demonstrators march in protest of Tina Fontaine verdict
Dozens of protesters gathered at London's Victoria Park and marched to the courthouse in response to a not guilty verdict in the death of Indigenous youth.
Protesters calling for fairness in Canadian judicial system
Demonstrators marched from Victoria Park to the London Courthouse Monday afternoon to protest the verdict in the death of Tina Fontaine, temporarily blocking traffic outside the London courthouse.
Indigenous activists Cameron Monkman and Lela George organized the protest. They say they marched because of unfairness in Canada's judicial system.
"We're being ignored, and this is a way of having our voices heard," Monkman said.
The protestors held hands in a square that briefly stopped traffic at Dundas and Richmond.
Fontaine, a 15 year-old Indigenous girl, was found dead on the banks of Winnipeg's Red River in August 2015. Raymond Joseph Cormier was charged with her murder later that year, but was found not guilty Thursday.
George and Monkman had previously organized a protest in light of the verdict in the Colton Boushie trial.
George says the Fontaine case made her think of the safety of Indigenous youth, including her own children.
"This hit me hard because this was a young child, and I have children of my own," she said. "We want to see our young people safe, we want to know that they're safe if they're out on their own."