WIIKWEMKOONG—The challenges being presented by the current opioid crisis and the accompanying violence and gang activity that accompanies an influx of drugs into the community are being tackled by chief and council.
An earlier proposal to place a gate at the entry to Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory had broad community support, noted Wiikwemkoong Ogimaa Rachel Manitowabi, but the legal pylons, time and effort needed to navigate that concept dictated council take a different approach.
To that end, Wiikwemkoong band council has been working on setting in place the residency bylaws needed to ensure the health and safety of the community and better control who is welcome within its borders and who is not—specifically southern gang drug dealers.
“We are getting close,” noted Ogimaa Manitowabi, who said she expected to have something to present to the community in the near future.
The issue is not limited to Wiikwemkoong, with many communities struggling to find solutions to the ongoing crisis and the infiltration of drug dealers into their neighbourhoods. Wiikwemkoong, explained Ogimaa Manitowabi, is taking a proactive approach to the issue and exploring all options—including some that are outside the “box.”
