THUNDER BAY – In Thunder Bay tonight it is very likely that many people will be tuned in to CBC television’s Fifth Estate at 9PM. There will be a report on the program titled: From the River’s Edge. The program states, “For aboriginal kids from reserves in northern Ontario, a high school diploma is a ticket to a better future. But a shocking number of these students have ended up dead before graduation.
“The fifth estate’s Gillian Findlay presents an extremely up-close and personal look inside the native secondary education program in Thunder Bay, Ont., where seven students have tragically died in the past ten years. Five of the victims died apparent alcohol related deaths — their bodies were pulled from local rivers amid swirling suspicions and rumours about what pushed them over the edge. Another two teens suffered troubling and unexpected deaths that have left lingering questions.
“Filmed by a local crew with close connections to the community, with unprecedented access, the fifth estate takes viewers inside the school halls, the homes where the kids are billeted, the mall where they hang out, and onto the dark streets where their dedicated teachers and mentors run nightly patrols in a desperate bid to try and get them all home safe”.
The story was originally filmed when Jordan Wabasse, a Webiquie First Nations student went missing. Wabasse vanished in February, and his body was recovered from the Kaministiqua River in xxx. There was a massive search effort put forward to find Jordan. It took weeks however before word of his disappearance started to be reported outside of Northwestern Ontario.
Viewers inside Canada will be able to watch the program on CBC’s website, but outside Canada there are apparently rights issues on the viewing of the program.
Tune in to www.cbc.ca/fifth/2011-2012/storiesfromtheriversedge to watch online, after the program has aired on CBC television.