Family in ‘shock, disbelief’ after manslaughter charge stayed

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This article was published 08/01/2024 (662 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Family of a woman from O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation are seeking answers about her death, calling it a flawed investigation and pleading with police and government to do more to protect the people in the northern Manitoba community.

Noreen Tait, 47, was assaulted Feb. 19, 2023, in OPCN (also known as South Indian Lake). She was transported more than 1,000 kilometres south to Winnipeg, but died of her injuries in hospital two days later.

Mounties charged Phillip Soulier, 50, with manslaughter in March.

The charge was stayed Nov. 29, owing to a lack of evidence, according to family members gathered Monday at Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak offices in Winnipeg.

“This has reopened the wounds of our loss and has left us in a state of shock and disbelief. We’re desperately seeking justice and closure,” said sister Arla Tait-Linklater.

“Noreen was much more than just a statistic,” she said, asking the public to come forward with any tips related to the slaying.

Tait-Linklater and Noreen Tait’s daughter, Brandy, further accused the RCMP of bungling the investigation by failing to secure the crime scene and taking too long to begin their investigation.

The pain of losing the mother of two has only been compounded by the lack of information and transparency surrounding the circumstances in her death, Tait-Linklater added.

She believes people in OPCN have information related to the case, but refuse to come forward.

In an email to the Free Press, RCMP said the residence was secured within an hour of the call for Tait and medical care was its priority.

“When it comes to interacting with victims of an assault, medical care always comes first. In some cases, victims are unconscious or incapacitated in some way from communicating with investigators,” RCMP spokesperson Tara Seel said in an email.

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Cathy Merrick called the community’s lack of involvement with the case a “conspiracy of silence.”

“(People) have every right and they have a responsibility to come forth with something that they are very much aware of,” she said during the news conference Monday.

Soulier has an extensive criminal background dating to 2002. Court records show multiple convictions for assault, uttering threats and failing to comply with conditions.

There are no more suspects being considered in Tait’s death, RCMP said in email Monday.

After Tait’s death, OPCN Chief Shirley Ducharme called a state of emergency and asked the AMC to create an action plan to address rising rates of violence in South Indian Lake.

Ducharme said the community needs more programs and services to address addiction, which would do much to decrease local violence.

“There needs to be more… it has to be ongoing, ongoing healing. It can’t come in one or two months and it’s gone. It needs to be more intensified,” the chief said.

Last month, the RCMP announced the Joint Action Circle, which will have Mounties work in tandem with Indigenous organizations to implement the 231 calls for justice from the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

On Monday, Brandy Tait called on RCMP to continue that process, so “no further harm, violence and murders happened to Indigenous women such as (Noreen) in our First Nations communities.”

The family received “very little” support during the grieving process, Tait-Linklater added, demanding provincial Victims Services provide more culturally-competent resources.

In South Indian Lake, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated domestic violence and RCMP response times have been lagging, according to Ducharme. Because of slow responses, residents have stopped phoning in emergencies, the chief said.

“There’s crisis in communities and those calls need to be attended to.”

The province said it will work with RCMP, First Nations police and community leadership to fight crime in northern communities.

“Every person, no matter where they live, deserves to be safe. Our government hears the pleas of families of victims like Noreen Tait who say addiction and violence is tearing apart (the) community,” a spokesperson said in an email.

Tait-Linklater said while the news conference was called to speak to her sister’s case, the problem is bigger.

“We will not rest until the truth is revealed and justice is served, not just for Noreen but for all the victims of such horrific, horrific crimes,” she said.

“We must ensure that victims and their families are treated with respect and dignity that they deserve and that those responsible for such horrific crimes are held accountable.”

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca