The family of Nash Prystie has identified him as the man who died in an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) shooting earlier this month north of Kenora, and is calling for more and quicker help for people with mental health challenges.

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is investigating the death of the 39-year-old, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He was born in Winnipeg and had strong ties to Kenora.

CBC News has been in contact with Prystie's family, who described him as an avid outdoorsman with an infectious laugh and gentle strength that inspired people around him.

Around 6 p.m. on March 9, officers responded to a call about a person in crisis at a property in the Ena Lake area.

They tried to negotiate with the man, who had an “edged weapon,” the SIU said in a news release March 10.