Saskatchewan lawmakers Thursday stood in solidarity in a government motion to express condolences to the victims of the stabbing rampage on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the Village of Weldon. 11 people were killed and many more injured in attacks on Sept. 4, all allegedly committed by Myles Sanderson.
“The shock of what occurred is still felt across Saskatchewan,” Premier Scott Moe said. “Nowhere is this trauma and sorrow felt more deeply and more profoundly than in the communities that have been directly affected. It’s still hard to believe what transpired in early September in our community of James Smith Cree Nation, as well as the Village of Weldon. There are 11 people ranging in age from 23 to 78 years old that were killed and 18 others were wounded in that attack.”
The Premier urged the public to resist the temptation that what happened in those communities could not take place in our neighbourhoods, on our streets or at our front door. Moe asked, if it happened to you or your family, how would you cope with the grief? He drew upon the experiences of the families of loved ones who died in the Humboldt bus crash in 2018.
“After the attacks in September, those families reached out to the families from James Smith and Weldon as well as the community members. And they urge all Canadians to extend the same support that they received after that fatal bus crash to their brothers and sisters in the communities of James Smith and Welcome brothers and sisters,” Moe explained.
He stated those families need support from those in the province. “Their burden is our burden.”
The government, in its Throne Speech Wednesday said it will get tougher on crime, focusing on establishing a Marshall’s Service to provide specialized emergency support to the RCMP when needed. The province is committed to working to advance First Nations administered policing models and hiring more officers to enforce warrant arrests.
“The tragedy that took place on September 4 of this year, on James Smith Cree Nation, and in the town of Weldon, and surrounding communities, and our province, will be forever changed. The tragedy that took the lives of 11 family and community members that day. 11 family members gone too soon. 11 families grieving their tragic and unexpected passing. And a whole community shook by the loss, the terrible loss,” NDP leader Carla Beck said.
Two public inquests have been ordered into the stabbing events. The first inquest could commence by late spring, early summer.