Death of Nadine Machiskinic leaves more questions than answers

An associate professor at the University of Regina says there are more questions than there are answers in the death of Nadine Machiskinic.

"I think these are really hard events," Michelle Stewart said. "That's why I hope when we bring events like this together, that it really does show the family how much the community is rallying around them."

Stewart teaches in the department ofjustice studies at the University of Regina. She was also a speaker at the vigil held inMachiskinic's memory on Tuesday night in Regina. The vigil was a chance for friends and family to get together and remember her, but also get updates on the upcoming coroners' inquiry in March.

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60 critical hours lost

During her speech, Stewart said the inquiry will focus on the elements of the case and how mistakes made can be avoided in the future. Police were not called after Machiskinic fell10storeys down a chute at the Delta Hotel.

"Nobody called the police when she died in the hospital a few hours later. Nobody called the police until the coroner saw her on Monday and said 'This doesn't seem quite right,'" Stewart said. "Those were 60 critical hours that were lost."

Family members joined in with their own concerns.

"Did nobody respond because Nadine was Indigenous?" asked Machiskinic's aunt Delores Stevenson."Did no one respond because they thought she was intoxicated?"

Stewart said these types of presumptions have to be made in Saskatchewan when nobody calls the police.

"Surely, when somebody else falls in the Delta Hotel, I'm sure the police are called. When they trip over a rug, the police are called."

Closure would help with grief

Stevenson said she continues to push for answers the family needs and deserves.

"It is an open wound for me and my family," Stevenson said. "I definitely feel the hurt and the frustration."

The support from the community has been important for the family, she said. Stevenson is unsure what to expect from the inquiry but she said she hopes the answers they are looking for will be revealed.

"There was just a lot of errors and a lot of negligence, in my opinion," Stevenson said as she addressed the crowd.

"I know that this issue is bigger and that there is other families out there that are facing the same situation and the same circumstances," she said. "Fighting to get answers andfighting to get justice for their families as well."

Stewart said there will also be a fundraising campaign set up to support the family during the inquiry.