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Trudeau visits grieving First Nation

PM pledges $40M to community still reeling from deaths

KELLY GERALDINE MALONE

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walked through blowing snow Monday to lay tobacco on the graves of victims of a mass stabbing before listening to family members who have been grieving for nearly three months.

“I know you are still reeling and still processing what happened and what took place,” Trudeau told a news conference in the James Smith Cree Nation’s school gym.

“I know from the conversations that I had that members from the community are still grappling with it every single day.”

The Sept. 4 stabbings left 11 dead and 18 injured on the James Smith Cree Nation, as well as in the nearby village of Weldon, Sask., northeast of Saskatoon. Myles Sanderson, the 32-year-old suspect in the attacks, later died in police custody.

Trudeau mentioned each of the victims by name.

He talked about how Carol and Thomas Burns were visiting on the First Nation and got swept up in the violence. He talked about Christian and Lana Head, whose family told him their deaths have left holes in their lives. He spoke about Gloria Burns, who went to help others that day and lost her life.

“These are not just names. These are not just part of a number of people in this horrific attack,” he said. “They are all individuals with stories.”

Trudeau, accompanied by Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, went to Saint Stephen’s Anglican Church, where seven of the victims are buried, and two other locations of graves.

Trudeau made the sign of the cross at each of the graves and took a moment of silence.

John Kelly Burns said he was overwhelmed with grief and struggled to speak with Trudeau. But, he said, it was important to tell the stories of his younger brother, Thomas, and mother, Carol.

Trudeau announced the federal government is to spend more than $40 million over the next six years to help build a new wellness centre and to repurpose a lodge to “address immediate needs” on the First Nation.

He said it’s also spending $2.5 million over five years to increase access in the community to treatments, including traditional and cultural supports, as well as longterm care of people with substanceabuse problems.

Another $20 million over four years is to top up the Pathways to Safe Indigenous Communities Initiative, which supports community-based safety and wellness projects for Indigenous women, girls and LGBTQ people in various communities, including James Smith.

NEWS | CANADA

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2022-11-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-11-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

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