Staff photo The pandemic has been a “real setback” as officials reinvestigate the deaths of nine Indigenous people in Thunder Bay. Retired OPP inspector Ken Leppert tells us in an effort to keep the health and safety of the investigators and witnesses a top priority, it has caused some delays beyond their control. “There’s a number of investigative steps that are also being delayed as a result of the pandemic that in some cases are outside of our investigative team,” explains Leppert. The former police inspector is optimistic the investigations will be finished in short order, but he could not give a timeline but indicates they are “close to the end.”