A Thunder Bay jail was understaffed and overcrowded with inmates when a renowned Indigenous artist died there in 2017, a senior officer at the facility told an inquest on Friday. Moses Beaver, of Nibinamik First Nation, was found unresponsive in his cell in February 2017 before being taken to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, where he was pronounced dead. An inquest into the 56-year-old’s death began earlier this month and could make recommendations that include ways to improve mental health services in Thunder Bay’s jail and across remote First Nations. Staff Sgt. Mark Dyrland, who works at the Thunder Bay jail, said the facility was understaffed around 2017, with only a few employees running the entire jail on some days. Dyrland said as a supervisor, he had

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