CANSO CAUSEWAY: The cousin of Cassidy Bernard, who spearheaded a peaceful protest march across the Canso Causeway in the wake of her death in October 2018, has just executed another one.
The demonstration came as a continued call for justice towards missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, 2SLGTBQ, and men and boys – this time highlighted by the recent death of Chantel Moore.
Annie Bernard-Daisley, who is also a three-term band councillor in We’koqma’q First Nation and the president of the Nova Scotia Native Women’s Association (NSNWA), said the justice system has ultimately failed Moore’s family.
“As Indigenous people, our lives are devalued,” Bernard-Daisley said. “Right now, it’s so apparent that she was murdered, to everyone else other than the people that make the decision.”
She suggested she would like to see the officer involved fired and charged with murder.
The march, which occurred August 16, aligned with a national effort to honour Moore at the request of her family.
Moore, a 26-year-old Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation woman, was fatally shot by an Edmundston, New Brunswick police officer during a wellness check on June 4. The police slaying has drawn a storm of criticism and a demand for improved relations between police and Indigenous people.
Bernard-Daisley also indicated she believes the police shooting death of Rodney Levi, and the acquittal of Maurice Johnson in the hit-and-run death of Brady Francis are other examples of how devalued Indigenous lives are in Canada, and more importantly Atlantic Canada.
Until she sees the system actually change – the mother of three girls – will continue to fight.
“I will never stop until I leave this Earth.”