Employees of the Waskaganish band were stunned when they arrived at work two weeks ago only to find police officers and medical personnel at the building.
In the basement, a young man who worked for the band had been found dead from a knife wound in the chest.
Marc Menard, 24, was discovered the morning of February 23 by a co-worker in the washroom.
Menard was an accountant working on the band’s financial-recovery plan.
The Waskaganish police and a doctor were called immediately. The death looked suspicious, so a Sûreté du Québec forensics team was called up from Rouyn-Noranda. They arrived in the early afternoon.
The SQ officers studied the premises until late in the evening, dusting for fingerprints and looking for clues as to what happened. Eventually, they found a suicide note under some papers on Menard’s desk.
In the note, Menard wrote it was time for him to go. “If I’m going to go, I’m going to go in style,” he wrote. He apologized for what he was about to do.
The SQ took Menard’s body to Montreal for an autopsy. On Monday, they confirmed it was a suicide. There was no sign of forced entry or struggle. All signs seemed to indicate Menard was alone. Also, the knife entry angle was lateral, indicating it was inflicted by Menard himself.
“It was really tragic. We’re in shock here. We’re still feeling the fallout,” said Chief Robert Weistche. “We can only pray for the family in this time of misfortune.”
The community held a ceremony for Menard’s family members, who came to Waskaganish.
Menard was employed by an Ottawa-based management company, which had a contract with the Waskaganish band.
“He was very highly regarded by us,” said Richard Lodge, president of Hartel Management Services in Ottawa. “He was here only a short time, but he really made a mark on the company. I feel for his parents’ sake.”
The funeral was held on Feb. 28 in Alexandria, Ont.
