Current Problems: Justice (25-42)

Exploring Stakeholder: "Government of Saskatchewan"

Updates on this page: 57
 

March 13, 2024


B.C. judge warns of ‘tsunami’ of Indigenous identity fraud cases

Baptist pastor charged with possessing child pornography claimed Métis status based on great-great-grandparent WARNING: This story contains details of child sexual exploitation and pornography. CBC News: After he was charged with possessing child pornography, Nathan Allen Joseph Legault discovered a figure from his past he hoped might help with his future. The Prince Rupert, B.C., man...

March 12, 2024


Report examines how James Smith Cree Nation mass killer was released from custody before massacre

Myles Sanderson killed 11, injured 17 others in 2022 rampage CBC News: An investigation into the statutory release of a man who went on a stabbing rampage in Saskatchewan has made 14 recommendations for the Correctional Service of Canada and the parole board. The national joint board of investigation into Myles Sanderson was launched soon...

March 2, 2024


Five critical questions answered by the coroner’s inquest into the death of Myles Sanderson

Warning: This story contains disturbing and graphic details some readers may find upsetting. ••••• Saskatoon Star Phoenix: The coroner’s inquest into the death of a Saskatchewan mass killer brought clarity, and some closure, to grieving communities. On Sept. 4, 2022, Myles Sanderson killed 11 people and injured 17 others during a stabbing rampage on James...

March 1, 2024


‘This is ground zero’: Saskatchewan father speaks to students about MMIWG

Click on the following link to watch the video: https://globalnews.ca/news/10329217/mmiwg-lecture-saskatchewan-polytechnic-megan-gallagher/amp/ Global News: One Saskatchewan father shared his journey for justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) and missing Indigenous people at a student lecture on Thursday. Brian Gallagher’s daughter Megan went missing in Sept. 2020. Her body was found two years later. The Gallagher...

February 29, 2024


James Smith Cree Nation killer showed severe psychopathic traits, forensic psychologist testifies

Jury deliberating after week-long public coroner’s inquest into Myles Sanderson’s death  CBC News: Mass killer Myles Sanderson was not just running from police in the high-speed pursuit that led to his arrest — he was likely on his way to finish his mission and kill his former common-law partner, a forensic criminal psychologist testified Thursday....

February 27, 2024


James Smith Cree Nation mass killer died from cocaine overdose, inquest hears

Saskatoon police probe finds RCMP officers did not cause Myles Sanderson’s death WARNING: Some content may be distressing to readers CBC News: A public coroner’s inquest into Myles Sanderson’s death has heard the mass killer died of “acute cocaine overdose,” and that his arrest by the RCMP did not cause or contribute to his death....

February 26, 2024


Jury at coroner’s inquest watches Myles Sanderson police pursuit, arrest before his death in custody

Sanderson died about an hour after arrest: RCMP CBC Indigenous: RCMP officers pursued Myles Sanderson into oncoming traffic, speeding between dozens of vehicles pulled onto shoulders and into the ditch, jury members heard Monday at the first day of a week-long inquest. Sanderson, 32, died a little more than an hour after police arrested him in the...

February 26, 2024


New inquest targets cause of Saskatchewan mass killer Myles Sanderson’s death after his arrest

Previous inquest into stabbings won’t play role in new proceeding: Sask. chief coroner CBC News: One major question remains after a public inquest spent weeks examining the stabbing massacre at James Smith Cree Nation: How did the killer die? The answer is expected after the conclusion of a week-long public coroner’s inquest beginning in Saskatoon on...

February 6, 2024


Saskatchewan MLA says more support needed for Indigenous women leaving incarceration

APTN News: The opposition critic for First Nations and Métis Relations in Saskatchewan says the province has to do a better job at helping Indigenous women leaving jail. “There needs to be support for healing because many of our Indigenous women, many people have trauma in their lives,” says Betty Nippi-Albright, the MLA for Saskatoon...

February 2, 2024


James Smith Cree Nation tragedy ‘could have been avoided’ says AFN national chief

APTN News: The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations says the lack of First Nations policing and other justice services compounded the tragedy on James Smith Cree Nation back in 2022. “This tragedy is a systemic failure of the police and the justice system,” Cindy Woodhouse of the Assembly of First Nations said...

February 1, 2024


James Smith Cree Nation chiefs, other leaders say funding needed to enact recommendations

Sask. chief coroner, inquest jury made 29 total recommendations CBC Indigenous: Chiefs from James Smith Cree Nation (JSCN) and other First Nations leaders say the federal government needs to provide more funding in order for the recommendations made at an inquest into the stabbing massacre at JSCN to be put into action. James Smith resident...

January 31, 2024


Increased RCMP resources, community collaboration among James Smith Cree Nation inquest jury’s recommendations

Jurors, coroner release 29 total recommendations CBC News: After more than two weeks of testimony, the jury at the coroner’s inquest into the stabbing massacre at James Smith Cree Nation shared its recommendations to help prevent similar tragedies in the future. The inquest, which began on Jan. 15 in Melfort, Sask., has been examining the...

January 30, 2024


Jury deliberating at inquest into mass stabbing on James Smith Cree Nation

APTN News: The jurors who heard evidence into the stabbing rampage on James Smith Cree Nation and nearby Welford, Sask., are now deliberating. The inquest, held in Melfort, Sask., located about 45 km south of where Myles Sanderson killed 11 people and wounded 17 others, has been sitting for two weeks. “When we look at the evidence...

January 24, 2024


Treaty commissioner questions ‘colonial’ nature of James Smith massacre inquest

Mary Musqua-Culbertson also skeptical that any jury recommendations will be implemented WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC Indigenous: Saskatchewan’s outgoing treaty commissioner is echoing the growing concerns of James Smith Cree Nation residents who say their voices are not being heard enough at an inquest into the mass stabbings there in 2022. “This process...

January 24, 2024


Parole officers appear at James Smith Cree inquest in Saskatchewan

APTN News: Myles Sanderson was a man who opened up once you got to know him, attended programs he was supposed to, and didn’t breach his conditions says Natasha Melanson. Melanson, the parole officer who was in charge of the man who would kill 10 people in James Smith Cree Nationwas and another in nearby...

January 19, 2024


Experts delve into killer’s psychology at James Smith Cree Nation massacre inquest

Myles Sanderson ‘had many psychopathic traits,’ psychologist and behaviour specialist testifies WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: It might not have been on paper, but experts say Myles Sanderson went into the tragic James Smith Cree Nation massacre with a plan.  “It was very simple. His mission was to attack, injure, murder those...

January 15, 2024


Public inquest into stabbing massacre on James Smith Cree Nation begins Monday

Purpose is to tell victims’ stories, prevent similar tragedies from happening WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: The coroner’s inquest into the mass stabbings that happened on James Smith Cree Nation in 2022 begins Monday.  Its purpose is to set the public record straight about what happened during the violent attacks and to prevent similar tragedies...

January 11, 2024


Probe into release of Myles Sanderson should be made public ahead of inquest: lawyer

Photographs of those killed during the mass stabbing on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon in 2022 are on display as Saskatchewan RCMP provide a preliminary timeline presentation of the events during a media event in Melfort, Sask., on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Photo: Liam Richards/The Canadian Press.  APTN...

November 17, 2023


Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation charts path forward on safety amid state of emergency

Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation wants to move forward on plans to develop a community safety officer program, a training facility and wellness and detox centre in Pelican Narrows. Author of the article: Thia James NationTalk: Saskatoon Star Phoenix – Elder Antonia Sewap rarely leaves her home in Pelican Narrows except to visit family members, out...

November 14, 2023


‘So much work to do’: Indigenous women vastly overrepresented in federal penitentiaries and provincial jails in Sask.

National Vice-Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples Kim Beaudin is calling for Indigenous involvement in oversight of the correctional system. NationTalk: Regina Leader-Post – Eighty-eight per cent of women held in federal custody in Saskatchewan are Indigenous, according to new data. Last week, federal correctional investigator Ivan Zinger released updated findings to his annual report dated June...

October 18, 2023


Sask. asks court to penalize Anishinabe man over published jail videos experts say show torture

Province says information in CBC News report came from confidential material disclosed as part of lawsuit CBC News: Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe’s government is asking the provincial court to penalize an Anishinabe man for allegedly breaching court rules following the publication of information and video from inside a youth jail showing staff immobilizing him with a full...

October 6, 2023


People accused of killing Indigenous women less likely to be charged with first-degree murder: study

Several factors from funding to distrust of colonial systems may contribute to the sentencing decisions  APTN News: A report from Statistics Canada shows that there’s a disparity in the way homicide cases involving Indigenous women and girls are handled in the Canadian legal system. Data between 2009 and 2021 indicated that first-degree murder charges, the...

August 8, 2023


Former Saskatchewan RCMP boss warned officers to watch opinions after Stanley verdict

Colten Boushie in an undated photo.  APTN News: The Canadian Press: The RCMP braced for backlash across rural Saskatchewan and kept a close eye on First Nations groups after the not-guilty verdict of a farmer charged in the death of Colten Boushie, emails show. The former top Mountie in the province also warned officers to watch their opinions,...

July 20, 2023


Indigenous people 17.7% more likely to be incarcerated in Sask.

Non-Indigenous people charged with crimes are more likely to receive bail than Indigenous people Jeremy Appel / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter / Alberta Native News Jul 20, 2023 10:00 PM NationTalk: Saskatoon Today: ALBERTA NATIVE NEWS — Saskatchewan has Canada’s highest rate of Indigenous over-representation in provincial custody, with Alberta in second place, according to new data...

June 23, 2023


Regina mom wants daughter’s overdose death investigated as possible homicide

APTN News: The mother of a 25-year-old woman who died of a drug overdose on Nov. 8, 2021 is pushing authorities to investigate her daughter’s death as a homicide. “I wish they would see what I see,” said Stacey Desjarlais of Brooke Keewatin-Desjarlais. Stacey and her husband (Brooke’s step-dad) don’t dispute that a drug overdose...

June 19, 2023


Is A Genocide Taking Place in Canada? Short Answer: Yes.

NationTalk: (OTTAWA, ON) – A genocide is being perpetuated against Indigenous peoples in Canada. That was the unambiguous declaration of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. But, despite a death toll that climbs year after year, many Canadians have difficulty understanding how the Inquiry reached its finding, or accepting that...

June 7, 2023


Every Canadian has a role in ending the MMIWG crisis, advocate says

Empathy ‘must stay in Canadians’ hearts past the evening’s news broadcast’: Hilda Anderson-Pyrz This column is an opinion written by Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, chair of the National Family and Survivors Circle, as part of CBC’s “Mother. Sister. Daughter,” a project that tracked progress on the 231 calls to justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered...

June 5, 2023


Search for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls hampered by police apathy: Researchers

‘The problem of Indigenous women being overpoliced and underprotected is all across Canada’ Participants walk in the Women’s Memorial March in Vancouver to remember missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua via Getty Images) Content warning: the following contains disturbing subject matter. NationTalk: University of Toronto – In Canada, research shows...

May 29, 2023


First Nations man says racial profiling led to assault by security guard at Regina Canadian Tire

‘I didn’t think it would happen to me twice in my lifetime,’ says Ezekial Bigknife Warning: this story contains distressing content. CBC News: First posted on May 26, Updated on May 29 Five years ago, Ezekial Bigknife was racially profiled while shopping at a store in Regina. Now he says it has happened to him...

May 25, 2023


Sexual assault organizations struggling to help victims post-pandemic: study

APTN News: The preliminary findings of a new national survey is highlighting how frontline sexual assault organizations are struggling to provide timely services to victims and survivors post-pandemic. The report, which was conducted by national organization Ending Violence Association of Canada, surveyed more than 100 sexual violence organizations (SVOs) across Canada on how the pandemic impacted...

May 2, 2023


MPs call for national emergency declaration on violence against Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit people

Motion was presented by NDP MP Leah Gazan of Winnipeg Centre CBC News: The House of Commons adopted a motion on unanimous consent Tuesday calling on the federal government to declare ongoing violence against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people a national emergency. The motion was presented by Winnipeg Centre NDP MP Leah Gazan. It also...

April 24, 2023


Dawn Walker, First Nations woman accused of fleeing with child, to argue she was trying to escape alleged abuse

The Globe and Mail: A First Nations author and former political candidate accused of faking her death and fleeing to the United States with her child will argue at her criminal trial that she did so out of necessity to protect her child from alleged abuse when the authorities would not. The details of Dawn...

April 23, 2023


Sask. man at centre of historic ‘Starlight Tours’ police misconduct case has died

Darrell Night spoke out after he was left by police to freeze outside Saskatoon in January 2000 CBC News: A man who spoke out more than 20 years ago after being taken on a “Starlight Tour” by Saskatoon police has died. In January of 2000, Darrell Night was driven out of the city by two Saskatoon police officers...

April 21, 2023


Family of man left brain dead after incident with Prince Albert police seeking answers

Officers used stun guns, pepper-sprayed Boden Umpherville, 40, during arrest on April 1 WARNING: This story contains graphic content. CBC News: The family of Boden Umpherville is still searching for answers about what led to the man being stun-gunned and seriously injured by members of the Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) several weeks ago. Umpherville,...

April 6, 2023


Lawyers want abduction charges stayed against Sask. woman, citing alleged human rights violations

Law professor says justice system continues to discriminate against Indigenous women CBC News: Lawyers for a Saskatchewan woman want the abduction and other charges against her to be stayed, citing alleged human rights violations including unnecessary strip searches and denial of medical care. In a court application, they list alleged individual violations against Dawn Walker, but say these...

March 27, 2023


Saulteaux sisters jailed for nearly 30 years to be conditionally released

Sask. sisters had been awaiting decision more than 2 months CBC News: Nerissa Quewezance, 48, and her sister Odelia Quewezance, 51, will be conditionally released while they await results of a ministerial review of their second-degree murder charge and conviction. People in the Yorkton Court of King’s Bench applauded when court closed just before 11 a.m....

March 26, 2023


My visit with Odelia Quewezance — jailed for a murder she says she didn’t commit — stirs up hope but opens old wounds

Quewezance, convicted with her sister in a killing her cousin confessed to, may be on the cusp of freedom. Why a visit to her home stirred old emotions. The Toronto Star: RHEIN, Sask.—Odelia Quewezance knew she had to stay strong, at least for a few more weeks. The slender 51- year-old Salteaux woman smiled often...

February 23, 2023


How missing Indigenous women could be saved with ‘Red Dress Alert’

Nation Talk: CTV News – One Winnipeg MP is calling for a system, similar to the existing Amber Alerts, to be established to notify the public about missing Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people. “We currently have crisis of violence against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in this country. Something that our current prime...

February 11, 2023


It’s everyone’s job to help end the MMIWG crisis, advocates say — and here’s how

‘It starts with everybody taking responsibility,’ says author of inquiry’s final report WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: Lorelei Williams is exhausted. The Coast Salish woman has been on the frontlines of the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls crisis in Vancouver since 2012, when she founded Butterflies in Spirit to raise awareness about...

January 24, 2023


Métis survivors sue Saskatchewan, Canada over residential school

Class-action suit launched over the Île-à-la-Crosse school in northern Saskatchewan after Métis were left out of previous settlements. Toronto Star: For survivors of one of the oldest residential schools in Canada, it’s been a long time coming. Métis survivors who attended the Île-à-la-Crosse residential school in northern Saskatchewan have launched a class-action lawsuit against the...

January 17, 2023


Bail hearing scheduled for Saskatchewan sisters who say they were wrongfully convicted

The Globe and Mail: Two sisters who have spent nearly 30 years in prison for what they say are wrongful murder convictions hugged and smudged before walking into a courthouse for a bail hearing Tuesday. Odelia and Nerissa Quewezance were convicted in 1994 of second-degree murder in the death of 70-year-old farmer Anthony Joseph Dolff,...

November 24, 2022


‘We’re survivors’: Quewezance sisters reunite at Saskatchewan court

APTN News: Despite the shackles on her wrists and ankles, Nerissa Quewezance leaned into her older sister’s arms Thursday. It was their first hug in 18 years. “My sister,” Odelia Quewezance said soothingly as she embraced Nerissa in front of the Yorkton, Sask., courthouse. The lone RCMP officer who transported Nerissa, 48, to Yorkton from...

November 10, 2022


Saskatchewan Justice department seeks to muzzle media in Saulteaux sisters’ case

APTN News fighting publication ban on Quewezance sisters’ bail hearing Crown attorney in Saskatchewan is arguing in a Yorkton courthouse that media shouldn’t be able to report on bail hearing for the sisters. over a bail hearing for Nerissa and Odelia Quewezance.  APTN News: A Saskatchewan prosecutor has applied to keep the details of a pivotal court...

November 6, 2022


First Nations leaders question new Sask. marshals service amid calls for better policing

Some see benefits to the move, while others decry a lack of consultation CBC News: As Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan call on governments for local policing forces and resources to address safety concerns, some First Nations community organizations are raising questions about the province’s newly announced marshals service. This week, the provincial government announced the planned Saskatchewan Marshals Service —...

September 30, 2022


‘Why aren’t we talking about it?’ The forgotten cause of missing Indigenous men and boys

Indigenous men are much more likely to be victims of homicide than Indigenous women, but families say they don’t get the same kind of attention. Toronto Star: ENOCH CREE NATION, Alta.—There is no word for goodbye in Cree. Instead people say êkosi mâka, or “That’s it for now.”  The belief is that loved ones will always...

August 15, 2022


Native Women’s Association of Canada calls for the return of Dawn Walker to Canada

“The fear and lack of choice that Dawn Walker says drove her decision to flee to the United States is reflected in the thousands of testimonies heard by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls who faced systemic discrimination on all fronts – we need to act on the Calls to...

March 2, 2022


Call for investigation into Prince Albert Police Service over death of Indigenous infant

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC), and Thunderchild First Nation – are calling for a Coroner’s Inquest and an immediate intervention from the Ministry of Corrections and Public Safety of the Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS). We are also calling for an independent investigation into the conduct of the PAPS...

December 14, 2021


Call for a Miscarriage of Justice Commission

APTN – Women and people of colour “urgently” need a commission to review claims of wrongful conviction, say two retired judges. Harry LaForme, the first Indigenous lawyer on an appellate court in Canada, and Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré, the first Black judge in Quebec, were tasked with helping formulate a new Criminal Case Review Commission for Justice Canada....

October 4, 2021


SCO Survey on MMIWG Calls for Justice

Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) – “Only 53% of murder cases involving [Indigenous] women and girls have led to charges of homicide. This is dramatically different from the national clearance rate for homicides in Canada, which was last reported as 84%” (NWAC, 2011). Governments and Canadian institutions now need to fully implement the Calls for Justice....

June 4, 2021


MMIWG Inquiry – OAS Complaint

The Native Women’s Association of Canada -NWAC is taking immediate steps to file a Human Rights complaint in Canada and to request International intervention and investigation by the Organization of American States (OAS) and United Nations (UN) in forcing the federal government to take the steps necessary to end the genocide against Indigenous women, girls and...

June 3, 2021


MMIWG Inquiry – Government Action Plan Complaints

NationTalk – Ontario Native Women’s Association, Québec Native Women, Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Chair in Indigenous Governance, Feminist Alliance for International Action – A consortia of Indigenous women’s advocacy groups representing 49% of Indigenous women’s voices in Canada finds that the National Action Plan and Federal Pathway on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and...

November 12, 2020


Federal, Provincial, Territory Ministers responsible for human rights

NationTalk – 24 civil society groups attending the third ever meeting of Federal, Provincial, Territory Ministers responsible for human rights “condemned the obstructive attitude of some governments” in advancing international human rights obligations. Groups had pressed governments to commit to nation-wide law reform that will legally require governments to adopt a collaborative, accountable, consistent, transparent,...

September 9, 2020


Indigenous Journalists

Toronto Star – Increasing arrests of Indigenous journalists including: Karl Dockstader at 1492 Land Back Lane Haudenosaunee occupation regarding a housing development near Caledonia Courtney Skye, Yellowhead Institute researcher and Ryerson Fellow arrested as well Award-winning journalist Justin Brake was arrested and charged with criminal and civil contempt and criminal mischief while covering a protest...

August 31, 2020


McDonald-Laurier Report on Systemic Racism in Policing

MacDonald-Laurier Institute – “Systemic racism in policing in Canada and approaches to fixing it,” argues that the fault for this lies primarily with political leaders who set the framework conditions and constraints for the delivery of police services. This commentary is based on the author’s written submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on...

July 23, 2020


McDonald-Laurier Report on Systemic Racism in Policing

The CBC “Deadly Force” database indicates that the RCMP are 3x more likely to use lethal force than other police forces in Canada. The CBC data found that 68 per cent of people killed in police encounters were suffering with some kind of mental illness, addiction or both. “When we get broader statistical information that...

July 9, 2019


Indigenous Cannabis Dispensaries

Policy Options – Saskatchewan Justice Minister Don Morgan urged the federal government to shut down cannabis dispensaries opened in Pheasant Rump Nakota Nation and Muscowpetung First Nation because they do not have provincial licences. Morgan’s comments reflect a deeply held belief in a hierarchy of laws that devalues and delegitimizes the law-making capacity of Indigenous...

June 3, 2019


MMIWG Inquiry – Final Report

“National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girl Final Report (MMIWG)” states: Indigenous women and girls are 2.7 times more likely to experience violence than non-Indigenous women. ]Homicide rates for Indigenous women were nearly seven times higher than for non- Indigenous women. One quarter of all female homicide victims in Canada in 2015...