Muskrat Dam youth boycott CLE in Thunder Bay

Many kids in northwestern Ontariowait for the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition(CLE) to return to Thunder Bay, but youth from Muskrat Dam Lake First Nation are boycotting the fair this summer because they're worried about their safety.

It began during a discussion in a grade 7 and 8 classroom, Roy Morris, the principal of Samson Beardy Memorial School in Muskrat Dam, told CBC News.

"One of the students said out of the blue, 'I am not going to the CLE this summer. Iam afraid. There are things happening there,'" he said.

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"All of the other students knew what she was talking about," he continued. "It's been in the news that people have lost their lives in Thunder Bay."

In May, two First Nations teens were found dead in Thunder Bay. The bodies of Tammy Keeash, a 17-year-oldfrom North Caribou Lake, and Josiah Begg, a 14-year-old from KitchenuhmaykoosibInninuwugwere both pulled from the Neebing-McIntyre river system less than two weeks apart.

'Very personal expression of fear'

Morris described the student'sadmission as a "very personal expression of fear."

The students told their parentshow they felt, Morris said, so that they wouldn't make arrangements to travel to Thunder Bay for the CLE. The students also made posters that they put up at the local radio station.

The community rallied around the students, as did the chief and council, said Morris.

"They said, 'we've always said that we'd like to support our youth, maybe we should support them in their decision,'" he said.

The community has arranged alternative activities for the kids who decide to stay in Muskrat Dam while the CLE is on, likefishing and a games day.

Morris acknowledgedhow a genuine admission of fear from the youth became a political undertakingby the time it reached local council chambers, "but the children themselves had no agenda other than to stay away from Thunder Bay for the summer."

Morris said most students didn't feel comfortable commenting publicly on the matter out of fear for their personal safety.

'I'd be concerned too'

Al Law, the president of the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition's board of directors, says the boycott is unfortunate, but he understands.

"If I lived there, I might be thinking the same thing, especially if I'm a parent with young children, or even teenagers, I'd be concerned too," he said.

In terms of the CLE being a safe environment, Law said there are a number of uniformed and undercover police officers, as well as paramedics from Saint John's Ambulance on-site during the fair.

"They're not boycotting the fair, they're boycotting the city of Thunder Bay," he said.