A group of high school students from a remote Saskatchewan First Nation devastated by a school shooting last year were given a whirlwind introduction to Toronto this week, including court time in the Toronto Raptors鈥� training gym with coach Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The 10 students from La Loche, Sask., were put through their paces by Raptors鈥� training staff and had the opportunity to chat one-on-one with the prime minister. They later sat courtside at a Toronto Raptors game Friday night as the team took on the Brooklyn Nets.
The trip was organized by Raptors鈥� general manager Masai Ujiri and CTV鈥檚 Marci Ien, who covered the story of the devastating shooting that killed four people and injured seven others.
Ien has also set up a GoFundMe page for the Dene High School breakfast program, which offers the community a time to come together and bond over a hot meal --
Ien said the students were 鈥渙pen鈥� with Trudeau about the issues the community is still facing in the aftermath of the tragedy.
鈥淭his is still very much a journey of healing at this point. It鈥檚 one year out,鈥� Ien said.
And some of the teens used the opportunity to get personal with the prime minister.
鈥淚 actually asked him about how Obama was, because I鈥檓 a big fan of Obama,鈥� said Breland Montgrand. 鈥淗e was like, 鈥楬e鈥檚 a very thoughtful guy.鈥欌��
Trudeau spoke about his meeting with the 10 students at a town hall meeting in London, Ont. later on Friday. The visit was part of the prime minister鈥檚 cross-Canada tour to connect with Canadians and discuss their concerns.
鈥淭o sit with those young people today and talk about how they鈥檙e dealing with it, how they鈥檙e looking for more support, how they鈥檙e developing resilience to deal with not just the challenges of being a teenager but going through tremendously difficult circumstances 鈥� was really something,鈥� Trudeau said.
The prime minister highlighted an interaction with a young student named Jeremiah, who Trudeau says told him that he didn鈥檛 want 鈥渢o disappear.鈥�
鈥淗e said, 鈥業 want to make sure that my language, my culture, my identity, is passed on,鈥欌�� Trudeau said. 鈥淔or him, he knew that language and identity is wrapped up in your sense of self, your sense of worth.鈥�
The prime minister said it was 鈥渁 message of hope and inspiration from someone in a community that has been through tremendously dark times.鈥�
The trip to Toronto also included a visit to the set of CTV鈥檚 The Social and a trip to Ryerson University, where some students discussed their plans for the future.
鈥淲hen I got to university I鈥檒l probably be thinking about being a doctor or a surgeon,鈥� said student Allaya Moise.
While brief, the visit seems to have made an impact on the students, Ien said.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen this group grow in 24 hours. The kids that arrived 24 hours ago are not the kids that are here right now,鈥� she said.
With files from CTV Toronto
