More than 100 people gathered for an event bringing awareness to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

It was the third annual Tree of Hope Ceremony taking place in front of police headquarters on Balmoral Street. The ultimate goal of the event is to create awareness to lead to an increase in credible tips and information for law enforcement, in hopes previously unsolved missing and murdered women and girls cases will be solved.

This was a special year, as other police services across Northern Ontario have joined the campaign and hosted their own tree-lighting events within their communities.

Other services on board include:

• Barrie Police Service
• Greater Sudbury Police Service
• Timmins Police Service
• Barrie Police Service
• UCCM Anishnaabe Police (United Chiefs & Councils of Manitoulin Island)

“It means so much to me, and it means so much to the families and survivors,” says Cst. Sharlene Bourdeau, who created the event. “This is a community driven event, it’s more about the community, not me. It’s supported by the police service, and I was just overjoyed to hear other police services accept this challenge.”

Along with a significant turnout from the public, many local leaders attended the gathering, include NAN Grand Chief Derek Fox, Fort William First Nations Chief Peter Collins, and Police Chief Slyvie Hauth.

Thunder Bay-Superior North MP and newly appointed Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu was also there, saying she has big plans when it comes to expanding the event.

“It’s so important to protect each other, and protect our most vulnerable people in our community, and to see that spread to other parts of the province is exciting,” explains Hajdu. “Of course Cst. Bourdreau has given me a task, which is to try and import this to Ottawa, and have it on Parliament Hill and I’m taking that very seriously and I’ll be reporting back to her soon about what steps need to be taken.”

During the first tree lighting ceremony at Thunder Bay Police Headquarters, a tree was lit with 1,200 red LED lights and a blue star. The 1,200 lights represent the 1,200 missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls cases currently confirmed by the RCMP, while the blue star represents the support of law enforcement.

The event began with an opening prayer, and had drumming throughout.