The town of Canora, Saskatchewan is grieving after two teenagers took their own lives, less than two months apart.

Hundreds of people in the town of about 2,200 packed into meetings over the past two nights to talk about what happened -- and to assess whether bullying at the school was a factor in one of the teen's deaths.

According to his parents, 16-year-old son Travis Sleeva was harassed at school for an extended period of time before he took his own life last month.

"Travis's suicide was not the first link to bullying in this school," said Travis's father on Monday, his voice trembling with emotion. "But with proper intervention and strong leadership, hopefully it'll be the last."

Recounting what her son had told her about his experience being bullied, Carol Sleeva said that "[Travis] . . . couldn't stand the fighting. He just couldn't stand it anymore, he didn't want to hurt."

Sleeva said her son first told her about being bullied in October, and that the abuse was happening daily.

Travis's former best friend and Canora High School student Kyle Prokopetz said bullying at the school is out of control.

"There's a lot of stuff going on. There's kids yelling at other kids, throwing rocks, threatening kids, harassing kids, all kinds of stuff, he said.

A few weeks after Travis's death, a Grade 9 female student also took her own life.

Alan Sharp, director of education for the school district, said that incident, however, did not stem from bullying, according to information he received.

Much of Monday night's meeting consisted of a presentation given by a grief counselling worker.

"It was a great informational meeting," said Canora Mayor Terry Dennis.

But Carol Sleeva was hoping for much more.

"I expected at least one hour of open forum for questions, I expected the board of education to be visible, the administration to be visible," she said. "They weren't. I really wanted answers to some of the questions I had."

Former Canora high school student Paul Chernoff experienced bullying when he attended four years ago.

"I was being physically assaulted from the moment I stepped into the building to the moment I stepped out," he said.

His mother, Joan, took the drastic step of not only pulling Paul out of the school, but moving her family to Calgary.

She said she felt the situation in Canora, a town about 230 kilometres northeast of Regina, was out of control.

"I know that bullying happens in countless schools and communities," she said, "but it is controlled and maintained."

Chernoff said her heart goes out to the Sleevas and to the grieving classmates of Travis.

Crisis Management Facilitator Patty Stewart McCord closed the meeting in Canora on Monday, saying the problem "won't be solved right in one facility. It won't be solved in the school. It's a community situation and everyone needs to own part of that and own part of the solution."

The Sleevas, however, aren't satisfied, and are calling for an independent inquiry into Travis's death.

With files from CTV's Sarah Galashan and CFQC's Christine Ouellet