‘I feel everybody’s pain,’ distraught man says
Son overcome by death of his mom, who was an advocate for missing and murdered women
WHITEHORSE — The distraught son of Wendy Carlick, an advocate for missing and murdered indigenous women who was found dead weeks ago, interrupted the national inquiry Wednesday to share his grief.
Alex Carlick walked into the tent in Whitehorse where another family was testifying and began to speak into a microphone. Wearing dark sunglasses, he said he was crying because both his mom and sister were taken from him.
“I see no cops here because they never did nothing for anything that I went through,” he said. “I lost everything, the closest family I have.
“I feel everybody’s pain around here. It’s pretty hard that you have to go through these situations,” he added.
Carlick left the tent in tears. The family members that had been testifying about their loved one, manslaughter victim Evangeline Billy, appeared shaken and a break was taken. All are welcome at the community hearings, said Bernee Bolton, the inquiry’s spokeswoman.
“This individual recently lost his mother and although he was not scheduled to speak today, we did expect him at some time. He had something to say and the family supported family by giving him space to speak,” she said.
These occurrences are to be expected, which is why health supports are in place, she added. “This is all part of the healing and truth-telling process.”
Wendy Carlick became an advocate for slain indigenous women after her daughter was murdered, said family friend Diane Lilley. Angel Carlick’s body was found in a wooded area in 2007 and her killing hasn’t been solved, the Whitehorse Daily Star reported.
The newspaper reported that Wendy Carlick was one of two women found dead in a Whitehorse home in late April. The RCMP is investigating the deaths as homicides.
“I can understand why Alex is feeling the way he is because he’s all alone now,” said Lilley. “Wendy was a beautiful soul.”
Lilley said she followed Carlick out of the tent and spoke to him outside, where he was extremely distraught. Two of his family members came to comfort him and take him away, she said.
She said she was proud of him for finding the courage to speak.
“I think that was really, really brave of him to do that,” she said. “Even though he interrupted, I’m really, really glad that he did that.”
The incident highlights the raw emotions at the hearings, which began Tuesday. Testimony has been intense and tearful, with many relatives presenting family photos of lost loved ones to the commissioners and speaking passionately about their legacies.
One family member urged the inquiry to recommend the RCMP apologize to indigenous people.
Edna Deerunner said she believes her father killed her mother, Annie Dick, in Porter Creek, Yukon, in the mid-1950s. Deerunner was just five years old at the time and said her dad never faced justice.