Mzwandile Poncana, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Mississauga.com

On a frigid Saturday afternoon at the beginning of February, community members gathered at Malton Youth Hub to voice concerns about the number of missing Black boys in the Greater Toronto Area.

The town hall aimed to raise awareness and provide resources for those seeking to support affected families. It was part of a series of events hosted by the Find Ontario Missing Boys committee, a grassroots initiative advocating for action and accountability.

“We gather today not just in grief, not just in frustration, but in defiance of the silence that has plagued our community for far too long. We’re here because a battle for justice, a fight for truth, is far from over,” said Shana McCalla, the committee’s founder and a leading advocate for the families of the missing boys.

McCalla first became aware of the issue when a close friend in Durham Region, a single father of a 15-year-old boy, alerted her that teenage boys in his area had gone missing. Her concern deepened after watching a video from the African Diasporic Channel discussing six missing Black boys.

“I was shocked to see there was limited coverage of it in the media,” said McCalla to Mississauga News.

Determined to bring attention to the issue, McCalla leveraged her own platform, a radio station called Roots Reggae Hub, which has over 100,000 followers across various social media platforms. She shared posts containing information about the missing boys, including clips from the African Diasporic Channel that named them. One of these posts garnered nearly one million views.

A second post, featuring screenshots of missing children flyers from the Missing Children Society of Canada, reached 3.5 million views.

“That’s the post that really sparked the movement. It got a lot of attention from multiple Black organizations and the media,” she said.

The Find Ontario Missing Boys committee launched a petition in mid-December, calling on law enforcement to prioritize these cases and provide regular updates. The petition also urged the media to amplify the cases of missing Black boys.

At the time, the group was aware of six Black boys and young men missing in Ontario. Since then, at least two have been found, with one more being found dead.

The young man who was found deceased is Alpachino Mignott, a 26-year-old rugby player who had been visiting Canada to attend a sporting event in Brampton and went missing in October 2024.

He was last seen in Niagara-on-the-Lake on Oct. 19. An investigation to locate him commenced and police issued a public missing person notice Oct. 29.

On Feb. 12, 2025, Niagara Police confirmed publicly his body had been found. In a statement on their website, they shared an investigation had concluded his death was not criminal in nature.

“Out of respect for family and due to privacy issues, the Niagara Regional Police will not be commenting further on the matter,” they added.

McCalla said she is unsatisfied with the police’s response. She is concerned they did not do a thorough investigation and said she is therefore working with Mignott’s mother to reopen the case.

“The details of the story are so strange. It was strange that a young man like him would not return back to Jamaica with his team and his coach,” said McCalla.

In the meantime, she has started a Gofundme to help his family in Jamaica repatriate his body.

McCalla emphasized at the town hall that, even with some boys found, the work was far from over.

Abigail Hamilton of RESQ Youth International spoke about systemic failures she said leave marginalized youth vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation.

“Some of our boys have been found, but lets be clear — this is not a victory, this is a warning. A warning that the system will dismiss us if we let it. A warning that our community is still under attack,” said McCalla.

She has since filed a Freedom of Information request with Toronto Police Services seeking data on missing children between 2019 and 2024 to determine demographic trends.

She also announced the launch of a website dedicated to the Missing Black Boys campaign.

Following McCalla’s speech, two representatives from Malton Neighbourhood Services, Jermeka Castello and Jay Craksten, spoke about the resources available for youth in the region.

“We offer one-on-one youth counselling, workshops and support for young people navigating school, employment and financial literacy,” said Castello.

Craksten noted financial barriers often make youth vulnerable to gang recruitment, with some leaving home to join gangs because they cannot find jobs or access financial support, thus making economic empowerment a key focus of their programs.

Abigail Hamilton, a representative from RESQ Youth International, also spoke at the event. RESQ provides wraparound support services, including counselling, psychotherapy, and court diversion programs for young people in Malton.

Hamilton referenced a 2020 report by Justice Brian Scully and TMU professor Judy Finley, titled “The Crossover Youth Project,” which found many youth spent over 400 days in pretrial custody, often cycling between the child welfare and criminal justice systems. Black and Indigenous youth were disproportionately affected, frequently placed in group homes far from their communities.

“The report found that the system often broke the spirit of young people, and I think that likely leads to a higher likelihood of recidivism,” said Hamilton.

Speaking to Mississauga News, Hamilton said multiple institutions — including the education, social, judicial, and health care systems — are failing youth, making them more vulnerable to trafficking and grooming.

Peel Regional Police were invited to the event, and had initially confirmed attendance, but did not show up.

In an emailed statement to Mississauga News, Const. Tyler Bell-Morena noted that “there is no alarming number or overrepresentation of a specific (missing) youth in our region. Presently, of all the current active missing persons reports across our five operational Divisions, none are youth.”

Out of the six original missing boys, one had been reported missing in Peel but was located. Currently, there are no known missing Black boys from the region.

Shana McCalla addressed the crowd at Malton Youth Hub, urging the community to continue demanding answers and accountability for missing Black boys.

Despite this, town halls have been held throughout the GTA in response to widespread community concern. The first was hosted virtually in January by Brampton’s Black Empowerment Unit and drew over 500 attendees.

Gwyneth Chapman, chair of the Black Empowerment Unit, said the event aimed to bring together community members and police services from across the GTA. She said the discussion revealed deep concerns in the community about missing Black boys.

“People have been very worried … even if there are no missing boys currently, the community still needs to have an understanding of what’s going on,” said Chapman.

McCalla expressed frustration with Peel police’s response to Mississauga News, saying it was similar to previous responses they had expressed to her.

“They’ve not wanted to provide information, they’ve denied that they have a problem there, and they feel like they’ve found all their missing boys — in my opinion they need to issue press releases and warn the public when there’s an issue going on across the GTA,” said McCalla.

She also criticized Peel Police for failing to attend the town hall despite confirming their participation.

McCalla, the Find Ontario Missing Boys committee and advocates continue to push for greater awareness and accountability.

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