Chief Coroner, RCMP Commanding Officer discuss JSCN inquest recommendations

The details of the inquest and heart-wrenching testimony were softened through the use of smudges and other ceremonies.

“We had sweat lodges, we had pipe ceremonies, we had smudges, we had Elders here, the teepee was outside,” said Weighill. “I think this has been kind of a first for us…we’ve really expanded, I guess, the scope of an inquest in Saskatchewan. We’ve really pushed the boundaries.”

Weighill said they did their best to work with the families affected by the tragedy. He admitted some of the families wanted more recommendations to come from the inquest, but by and large Weighill believed that there was healing.

He maintained that the ice was broken and the inquest was a real stepping stone to heal.

Some had called for a more intensive inquiry to be held rather than a Coroner’s Inquest. But Weighill told reporters that an inquiry would have meant a longer time frame.

“ln Saskatchewan we’re lucky we can have a Coroner’s Inquest. Within a year and a half we brought this inquest together, two-and-a-half weeks I believe that we brought out the whole story that happened that day, and a lot of the issues that led up to that, and some recommendations.” Weighill said.

He added that the province has met the challenge to get the truth out and bring some comfort to the families. A national inquiry would take four or five years, said Weighill, and things get forgotten over time.

“This was still fresh in everybody’s mind. We were able to bring some good results to (families), and I really think that this was the right move to make for our province.”

Weighill added he would like to see even more ceremony brought in during future inquests involving Indigenous individuals.

According to Weighill, most inquests have eight to 10 recommendations coming forward, with as many as 20. The 29 in this case is the most Weighill has seen at an inquest.

The Coroners Service will be sending a letter to each agency that has been involved with the recommendations made at the inquest. The letter will ask each of those agencies what they plan to do with those recommendations. Weighill said they usually receive a replay from agencies within three to four months. The responses are filed and put on the Saskatchewan Coroners Service website.

“People can see what those recommendations are, and they can see what the affected agencies are going to do with those recommendations,” said Weighill.

The Coroners Service has no authority to enforce any of the recommendations. Weighill said some of the recommendations can be nearly impossible to put in place, but the service typically gets good results and answers from the agencies involved.

Weighill said there were a lot of parties involved in the recommendations issued Wednesday.

“I really feel, I think, quite pleased that there’s such a wide breadth,” Weighill explained. “Whether it’s Corrections Service Canada, whether it’s the RCMP, whether it’s the James Smith Cree Nation leadership. So I mean it’s really hit the whole gamut of people that should be looking at some of these things that affected what happened on James Smith that day.”

RHONDA BLACKMORE

The Commanding Officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP also addressed reporters following the closure of the inquest.

Rhonda Blackmore said there were some positive recommendations made by the jury and Presiding Coroner Blaine Beaven, and the RCMP will be further looking at them to see what they can do to implement and address the recommendations.

(Commanding Officer Rhonda Blackmore addresses reporters after the closing of the JSCN/Weldon Coroner’s Inquest. (Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW)

Blackmore noted that soon after the incident at James Smith, the RCMP began to work on some of the same themes, including working with the James Smith security team and improving communication with the First Nation.

The RCMP has also started looking at changing the risk assessment for offenders, incorporating domestic and inter-partner violence into their risk management.

Some of the recommendations touched on increasing staffing for various RCMP teams that deal with drugs and warrant enforcement. However, Blackmore told reporters that’s not an easy fix.

“Staffing can be a difficult thing to do. Obviously you need human resources to be able to do that and for us, it’s always a balance of front-line responders and specialty teams,” Blackmore explained. “You still need someone to answer the radio to answer those calls.”

Blackmore said the RCMP both nationally and provincially have taken steps to increase recruitment. Specifically, RCMP members from Saskatchewan who want to return to the province have the ability to do so. Additionally, anyone from Saskatchewan who wants to apply to work here will be prioritized over applicants from other provinces. Blackmore added that an Indigenous recruiting unit set up in 2022 has been successful at attracting Indigenous applicants.

“We feel that’s very important as First Nations move towards self-administered policing, that in the interim we can offer a better representation of the populations we police, particularly Indigenous communities,” Blackmore said. “We’re working hard on that, planning an all-Indigenous troop that will go through our training academy this spring.”

She said the RCMP will look at all of the recommendations and do what they can to implement them going forward. However, any recommendations involving additional funding and resources will have to be in conjunction with the province.

One of the recommendations from the inquest was to expand the alert system to include dangerous persons. Blackmore agreed that improving the alert system was important.

“The alert system has certainly not been as user-friendly or had the ability to address some of the concerns,” Blackmore explained. “It’s a system that sort of morphed into an emergency alerting system, and that has been problematic for us.”

She said the RCMP welcomes any changes or progress that can be made in that area.

One of Coroner Beaven’s recommendations was that the RCMP implement practices and technologies to ensure officers who are looking for someone have the most up-to-date photo available. That could include utilizing other databases, including SGI’s drivers license pictures.

Blackmore said they are restricted in what they can do under the Identification of Criminals Act, which limits what photos they can have.

“But being able to access some of those other systems certainly would be beneficial to our front-line members,” she said.

Blackmore added as long as they have the technology to check other databases they would adopt that as a best practice.

Overall, Blackmore described the inquest as a very emotional process that was important and provided answers and information that people may not have previously had.

“That has been our commitment from the day as the incident was unfolding to get out the information that we can get out to the public, but more importantly to the families and the victims,” Blackmore explained. She added that’s why they released information to families and the media in an event last April.

Blackmore said that information, and the information revealed at the inquest, allowed families to get some sense of closure.

“My hope is that it helps the families to move in a direction of healing. There’s a lot of healing that needs to happen, there’s a lot of people who are on a very long journey of healing that hopefully this information helped them.”

During the media interview, Blackmore thanked the jury members who listened to some very difficult testimony and information. She also commended the bravery of witnesses, many of whom were personally impacted by the tragedy.

“Whether it be as first responders, many of my members who witnessed horrors that they couldn’t even have imagined, right through to family members who asked some difficult questions and relived some incredibly difficult moments,” Blackmore said.

“I hope this helps move everyone in a positive direction.”

Myles Sanderson was responsible for the stabbing deaths of 11 people on James Smith and in Weldon Sept. 4, 2022. Seventeen others were injured in the rampage.

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cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @northeastNOW_SK

by Cam Lee

Chief Coroner, RCMP Commanding Officer discuss JSCN inquest recommendations

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