Parliamentary Committee Notes: James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon Mass Casualty Inquest

Issue:

In January and February of 2024, the Saskatchewan Coroners Service conducted two inquests into the mass casualty events that occurred at James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Saskatchewan in September 2022. The resulting reports directed a number of recommendations at the federal government.

Proposed Response:

Background:

On September 4, 2022, a tragic incident occurred in James Smith Cree Nation (JSCN) and the nearby village of Weldon, Saskatchewan which resulted in the stabbing deaths of 11 victims, and the injuries of many others. One of the suspects in this event, Myles Sanderson, was a federal offender on statutory release in the community. Sanderson was apprehended by law enforcement on September 7, 2022, but later died in custody. At the time, this offender’s statutory release had been suspended and he was unlawfully at large. In addition to the profound impact on the communities, the incident resulted in a significant reaction from the media and the public.

The Saskatchewan Coroners Service (SCS) held its first public inquest, from January 15 to January 31, 2024, in relation to the 11 deaths that occurred. The SCS is responsible for the investigation of all sudden, unexpected deaths, and the purpose of an inquest is to establish who died, when and where that person died, and the medical cause and manner of death. Pursuant to provincial legislation, an inquest is held to "inform the public of circumstances surrounding a death" and to "bring dangerous practices or conditions to light and facilitate the making of recommendations to avoid preventable deaths." The legislation further provides the Chief Coroner with the authority to hold one inquest for multiple deaths occurring from the same event. In the present case, the inquest was held for the deaths of all 11 victims. In addition, the SCS held a second inquest into the in-custody death of Myles Sanderson from February 26 to March 1, 2024.

In total, both SCS inquests produced 34 total recommendations. Of these, 26 recommendations were directed to Public Safety and the portfolio, including two recommendations directed to Public Safety Canada (PS), 10 to the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) and 14 to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The recommendations are largely operational, targeting such areas as staffing, resources and recruitment, policing operations, community reintegration and programming, public notification, community collaboration and consultation, and support for Indigenous communities. It should be noted that the recommendations are not binding but are rather intended to improve practices going forward.

In addition to the SCS inquests, a CSC-Parole Board of Canada (PBC) National Joint Board of Investigation (BOI) was convened on September 23, 2022 to determine the facts that led to the tragedy. It was comprised of six members, including two community co-chairs who were external to both organizations. All members had experience and expertise in the criminal justice system, and three members were Indigenous. The BOI report produced 14 recommendations (10 directed to the PBC and four to CSC) and concluded that there were no pre-incident indicators or precipitating events that could have been acted upon to prevent the incident.

With respect to the content of individual recommendations from the SCS inquests, it should be noted that seven were directed to JSCN. Further, many of recommendations directed to federal government organizations would also be of great interest to the community, and JSCN has already signaled their strong preference for constructively engaging with the federal government in response to this incident. In the case of the CSC-PBC BOI report, the CSC Commissioner and the PBC Chairperson met with members of the impacted communities, including leaders of JSCN, to discuss the findings, recommendations, and next steps prior to its release. They also committed to further engagement and ongoing collaboration as they implement their action plans.

Government Response

A letter from the Deputy Coroner of SCS to the Deputy Minister of PS was received, seeking the Department’s review, consideration, and response to the two recommendations directed at the department. The Deputy Minister replied to SCS, acknowledging the recommendations and indicating that each portfolio organization intends to respond to them individually. It should be noted that SCS also sent similar letters to the Commissioners of both CSC and the RCMP.

Since the incident took place, PS has continued to carefully monitor any developments, and has been engaging and coordinating with its partners to respond to the tragedy and support the impacted communities. Although each organization will lead their own response to the recommendations, PS will continue to engage and support portfolio partners where necessary.

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