Yukon MLA questions Silverfox death

Yukoner Raymond Silverfox might still be alive if police had changed the way they deal with drunk people as recommended after other custody deaths, NDP MLA John Edzerza said Tuesday in the legislature.

Silverfox, 43, died in hospital Dec. 2 after spending about 12 hours in a Whitehorse police cell, where he had been placed after being picked up from the Salvation Army shelter.

As the fourth aboriginal person to die in Yukon RCMP custody since 1999, Silverfox's death raises concerns among First Nations people, Edzerza said.

'If the RCMP had proper policies in place, many people say the latest victim would still be alive.' — Yukon NDP MLA John Edzerza

Good recommendations to improve monitoring, communication and medical education have been made by inquests into other custody deaths in the territory, but they have not been acted on, he said.

"If the RCMP had proper policies in place, many people say the latest victim would still be alive," he said.

The First Nations community also wonders if Silverfox's race was a factor, he said.

"We suspect that we are witnessing systemic prejudice by the RCMP whenever they arrest intoxicated people of First Nations ancestry," he said.

Justice Minister Marian Horne told the legislature the coroner does not have the power to make sure recommendations that come out of Yukon inquests are implemented.

Preliminary autopsy results show Silverfox had a pre-existing lung condition, but it's not yet known if that was a factor in his death, said Yukon chief coroner Sharon Hanley. An inquest into the death will be held in 2009.

The RCMP is also investigating the death and the probe is being monitored by an independent observer from the RCMP Public Complaints Commission in Ottawa.