Family of Miranda Mamakwa seeking criminal investigation into negligent death of mother

The family of a woman who died after a federal program did not arrange transportation to medical appointments is asking for a criminal investigation. “The criminal justice system should only be invoked where grounds exist to believe a crime has been committed,” read the statement from the family. “Public officials are as accountable as anyone else in this country for reckless acts that endanger those in their charge.” According to her family, Miranda Mamakwa died on Sept. 8 after she didn’t receive transportation to multiple important appointments following an open-heart surgery. She was 31 and the mother of three kids. “Literally, the blood of Indigenous people is required for any kind of meaningful change,” said Julian Falconer, legal counsel for the family. “We have created a pattern of behavior where we only get their attention once they [Canada] have killed somebody.” Mamakwa was a member of Fort Severn First Nation, the northernmost community in Ontario, and was relying on transportation from the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program (NIHB) to get to follow-up appointments in Thunder Bay after her surgery in April 2026. NIHB is a federal program provided by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), and is mandated to provide medical transportation services, alongside other supports such as medication and vision care, to First Nations and Inuit people. Her first appointment following her return home was scheduled for May 28, and the local nursing station had sent a request by fax (the only method of communication with NIHB offices available to them, Falconer confirmed) for NIHB to provide transportation. However, the nearest office, located in Sioux Lookout, never got back to them. Despite multiple requests and letters from her doctor, she missed four appointments, including “an appointment with a vascular surgeon about blood clots,” according to the backgrounder provided to the media. The backgrounder also stated that, following the surgery, Mamakwa had been put on blood thinner medication for blood clots, and was visiting the Nation’s nursing station once a week for blood work. She eventually became lethargic and “began to lose feeling in her fingers,” the backgrounder noted, and she ultimately died of a brain haemorrhage after being transported to Thunder Bay. Brain haemorrhages are caused by a blood vessel leaking or bursting in the brain, essentially drowning it. Prior to her death, on Aug. 19, Mamakwa had made a grim post on social media: “If I die, please go after them.” On Friday, Falconer and Mamakwa’s parents, Eva Mamakwa and Mike Bluecoat, issued a statement announcing they had sent a formal request to Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Thomas Carrique. “The wanton and reckless disregard shown for Miranda’s health, and ultimately her life, by those public officials responsible for arranging her medical transportation makes such an investigation a necessity,” the statement said. Eva and Mike are staying out of the public eye, but did comment in the statement. “This should never have happened to Miranda. She should be alive today,” they said. “We deserve to know how something like this happened, and we want the individual or individuals responsible for failing to respond to these urgent requests for transportation to be held accountable. They cost Miranda her life. They cost her children a future without their mother.” Read more: Mother of First Nations woman who couldn’t get medical transport and died seeks reform Falconer said he does not take criminal cases lightly, but that this circumstance was “wonton neglect.” “Three children are without a mother. A grandmother is left explaining to these children where their mother is. Words cannot describe the extent of the neglect here,” he said. It’s also indicative of Canada’s failure to act in the best interests of Indigenous Peoples, he said. Alongside this matter, the lawyer is also legal counsel to a coalition of several First Nations and tribal councils, led by Wunnumin Lake First Nation, Matawa Chiefs Council, and Windigo First Nations Council, which filed a human rights complaint against ISC on Oct. 1. “The complaint alleges widespread neglect and systemic discrimination by the NIHB, whose routine administrative failures effectively deny life-sustaining healthcare to remote, fly-in communities,” stated a release on the Falconers legal practice’s website. The coalition is seeking “sweeping structural overhauls,” as well as $20,000 in damages for those who missed medical appointments, and an additional $20,000 in “compensation for damages due to Canada’s willful and reckless conduct.” Similar to Mamakwa’s case, members of Wummumin Lake, a fly-in community with no full-time doctor, “were subject to 147 missed medical appointments between March 2025 and March 2026 alone,” because of NIHB not arranging transportation, according to Falconer. He said this would not happen in a place like Toronto. “They are captive to the system that’s in place and the system is supposed to be in place to honour Treaty promises,” he said. “And we have benefited through privilege and wealth from these Treaties. “Now what we’re seeing is basically a collapse of the medical responsibility that Canada bears. And what’s outrageous about all of this is that rest assured, if a failure of this kind happened to a white family, you can absolutely be assured there would be a criminal investigation.” Internal review underway, stated ISC According to a statement sent to APTN News, ISC has been in the process of “reviewing the circumstances of [Mamakwa’s] passing” since Sept. 11. This was in part due to requests for an investigation from the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA) and leadership from Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), which represents 49 First Nations in Ontario, the statement read. “A dedicated team has been established by ISC to conduct the review,” ISC spokesperson Carolane Gratton wrote. “Guided by an ISC Patient Safety facilitator, the team will conduct interviews and discussions to map relevant interactions and identify all contributing factors, both internal and external. The team will invite input from Ms. Mamakwa’s family and others involved in her circle of care as part of the review process and the development of recommendations.” Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty also met with NAN and SLFNHA on Sept. 30, and “continues to be in open dialogue while ISC provides support,” according to the statement. Falconer said Gull-Masty has not been in touch with Mamakwa’s family, to his knowledge. “Crickets,” he said. Falconer said a review is not enough, and the case needs “serious accountability.” “If you know of and are implicated in the deprivation of essential health services to another human, and you are paid to provide those services, and you are implicated in denying those services, you should expect to get a knock on the door from the authorities. That’s certainly the country we live in for non-Indigenous people,” he said. Emma HoneybunOnline Journalist | WinnipegEmma is a Red River Métis with family roots in St. Malo, Manitoba. She graduated from RRC Polytech’s Creative Communications program in 2023 and went on to serve as a community journalist and photographer for the Free Press Community Review until she joined APTN in 2026. Equipped with a strong sense of justice, she enjoys covering stories in the central prairies for a larger audience. Her work has also appeared in Manitoba Inc. Magazine, the Free Press, and RRC Polytech’s student paper, The Projector. Continue Reading