Manitobans are invited to pay their respects to the late Cathy Merrick at the Manitoba legislature on Wednesday afternoon.
Merrick, who had served as grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs since 2022, died suddenly on Friday at 62 after collapsing outside a Winnipeg courthouse while speaking with reporters.
She made history in October 2022 when she was elected as the first-ever woman to lead AMC.
A passionate advocate for First Nations people and communities, Merrick was at the forefront of the push to search a landfill for the remains of two Indigenous victims of a Winnipeg serial killer.
She was also known for her efforts to reform the child-welfare system and to improve health care and other services in Manitoba First Nations.
At the time of her collapse Friday, she was speaking out against the acquittal of a Manitoba corrections officer who was charged in the death of an Indigenous inmate.
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Merrick is lying in …