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Tori was just eight years old. McClintic was sentenced to life with no parole for 25 years.

But even after a jailhouse assault in 2016, McClintic got the green light after just eight years to be sent to a healing lodge last December.

Francis — who is a spokeswoman for the band –added that members are furious they weren’t consulted.

She told CKOM local elders once had a say in who would be allowed to transfer to the Okimaw Ochi Healing Lodge.

But all that changed.

“They would travel during the interview process for some of these inmates that were looking to transfer to the facility,” Francis said.

“It was cut six years ago and since then we’ve had no say as to who comes out of the healing lodge and that is really concerning as a band member.”

The lodge has been a part of the community for 23 years and some inmates have participated in Native ceremonies with band elders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4gJ0m1ZEQo&t=3s

While the band was under no illusion that inmates at the lodge have done some despicable things, McClintic is beyond the pale.

“In my opinion, if the elders were there in the intake process, I believe that McClintic wouldn’t be in our community right now because they would have screened her out and said her crime is too horrendous to come to our community,” Francis said.

“But they didn’t have that opportunity.”

Chief Alan Francis shared the same concerns in another interview with CKOM.

If elders had been involved in the process, there would have been a different outcome.

Cherish Francis also said she was worried that the Ontario child killer could derail the work the — already misunderstood — healing lodges do.

The true purpose is to reduce the high incarceration rate of Indigenous people, she said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7-gFwwH4xc&t=108s

bhunter@postmedia.com