RCMP resistant to change despite repeated calls for action: former senior Mountie


HALIFAX — A public inquiry into the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia heard Wednesday from a former assistant commissioner of the RCMP who said the police force has a long history of ignoring calls for change.


RCMP resistant to change despite repeated calls for action: former senior Mountie

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Cal Corley, who is now CEO of the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance, said the RCMP has long resisted outside advice because of its deep-rooted paramilitary culture, lack of diverse views and dearth of what he called "transformational leadership."

"It's been an organization that's been historically very slow to adapt to its external environment," Corley said during a roundtable discussion. "There's an institutional culture that has been rather closed for many years."

Corley was among eight academics and bureaucrats who talked about community policing, a concept that Corley says was initially embraced by the RCMP but failed to take root. "The institutional culture is more powerful than any single leader or any single group of leaders," he said.

Corley said transformation of the RCMP into a modern police force has been stymied by leaders who lacked the competence to undertake such a task.

"This includes the ability to work with others to accomplish a shared vision, to assemble a change-capable team, develop a sense of urgency and ultimately to execute a strategy," he said.

As for the lack of diversity within the RCMP, Corley acknowledged the organization has worked hard for the past 20 years to recruit more women, people of colour and Indigenous people.

"It hires for diversity, but then it trains that diversity out of them," he said. "It becomes abundantly clear early in one's career that to succeed, one should, above all else, conform with the existing cultural norms."

As well, Corley said the RCMP's military-style command-and-control structure remains incompatible with the softer skills needed for tackling social issues, which he said is what police spend most of their time doing.

Related video: Former head of N.S. RCMP acknowledges communication failures during mass shooting

Duration 2:02 View on Watch

The former senior Mountie, who also served as head of the Canadian Police College, cited a 2017 study that included a 41-page list of recommendations for change that he said were largely ignored by the RCMP.

The study, produced for the Ottawa-based Macdonald-Laurier Institute, said that independent reports submitted over two decades repeatedly found that change in the RCMP had been impeded by "a lack of accountability and a culture of fear."

The study was written by Christian Leuprecht, a professor at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., who specializes in police and security issues.

"We keep coming up with the same recommendations, over and over," Leuprecht said in an interview Wednesday. "It's well established what the problems are. And I suspect the Mass Casualty Commission will come up with things we've known for 50 years."

Leuprecht said part of the problem is that the RCMP has a mandate that is too broad.

"No other police force has a greater span of tasks, from writing traffic tickets to investigating outlaw bikers, criminal hackers, fentanyl smugglers, and money launderers," his 2017 report says. "In terms of the number of units and range of responsibilities, the RCMP is without parallel ... among democracies of comparable size."

It's important, however, to recognize the RCMP does not decide what its functions are, he said. That's up to the federal government.

"Everyone knows the organization is broken, but they're too afraid of making change for fear of breaking it completely," Leuprecht said in the interview. "And the RCMP can't fix its own mandate .... When you look for political leadership, the politicians just scatter."

The public inquiry, which started hearings in February, is expected to conclude its investigation later this month, and a final report is slated for release by March 31 of next year.

Among other things, the inquiry is investigating why it took the RCMP 13 hours to stop a man from killing people in northern and central Nova Scotia in April 2020.

The inquiry has heard Gabriel Wortman, a denture-maker based in Dartmouth, N.S., assaulted his common-law wife on the night of April 18, 2020, and then fatally shot 13 people in Portapique, N.S., while disguised as a Mountie and driving a car that looked exactly like an RCMP cruiser.

The next day, he killed another nine people — including a Mountie and a pregnant woman — before two RCMP officers shot him to death at a gas station in Enfield, N.S.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2022.

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press

B.C. government and public service union reach tentative deal for 33,000 workers


VICTORIA — The biggest union representing public service workers in British Columbia announced Wednesdayit had reached a tentative contract agreement with the province covering 33,000 of its members.


The B.C. General Employees Union said in a statement the proposed deal with B.C.'s Public Service Agency came togetherafter almost two weeks of limited job action and more than seven months of negotiations

The union suspended limited job action last week as its bargaining committee returned to negotiations in what it said was "a sign of good faith."

The job action targeted certain distribution warehouses and left liquor and cannabis store shelves empty of many products.

The union said the three-year agreement would offer wage increases of between 10.74 and 12.99 per cent, with hikes in the second and third years linked to the inflation rate.

The deal also offers a one-time economic subsidy payment equivalent to $4 per hour for a 16-week period for 20 job classifications ranging from store clerks to machine operators.

It covers jobs in core public services such as public safety, social services and environmental management. Those working at the Liquor Distribution Branch, BC Pension Corp., Destination BC and the Royal BC Museum are also part of the contract.

Union members voted 95 per cent in favour of strike action in June before taking job action in mid-August.

BCGEU president Stephanie Smith said her members were clear that their top priorities were wage increases and wage protection.

“I’m proud of the work our committee has done and I’m proud of the solidarity our members have shown over the last eight months, especially the hundreds who walked picket lines at liquor and cannabis locations and the thousands who refused much-needed overtime as part of our job action," Smith said in the statement.

The union said the timeline for a ratification vote will be confirmed in the coming days.

Premier John Horgan said his government believes the contract offer is fair and meets the interests of taxpayers.

“We’ll see what comes back from the membership," Horgan said at a news conference in Langford, B.C., where he announced a cap of 2 per cent rent increases and $600 million in tax credits and family benefits to help residents counter the increased cost of living.

Finance Minister Selina Robinson told reporters at the same news conference that she'll wait for the results of the ratification vote before discussing the affect the agreement will have on the province's bottom line.

The B.C. Finance Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that the agreement was reached under the so-called shared recovery mandate.

The mandate was set out by the New Democrat government with three key priorities: protecting government services, improving health care and supporting a strong and inclusive economic recovery.

The tentative agreement covers the first of several public sector unions that will be bargaining with the government this year.

Contracts expire in 2022 for more than two-thirds of the BCGEU’s 85,000 members, including those working in community social services and health, post-secondary instructors and support staff, and health science professionals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2022.

The Canadian Press

NATIONALISM IS FASCISM
Quebec election: Comments linking immigration to violence continue to haunt Legault

Thursday


MONTREAL — Coalition Avenir Québec Leader François Legault found himself on the defensive Thursday, trying to clarify comments made a day earlier that linked immigration to the province with extremism and violence.


Quebec election: Comments linking immigration to violence continue 

to haunt Legault© Provided by The Canadian Press

On Day 12 of the election campaign, Legault was peppered by questions from journalists about whether he was friends with any immigrants or whether he feared newcomers.

"Not at all," Legault said when asked whether immigrants scare him, "… we have many candidates who are immigrants."

A day earlier, Legault discussed what he described as the "challenges of integration" and repeated his policy that he wouldn't increase immigration to Quebec beyond 50,000 people a year. "Quebecers are peaceful," he said, "they don't like bickering, they don't like extremists, they don't like violence. We have to ensure that we keep it the way it is right now."

Late Thursday, Legault said immigration was a source of wealth to Quebec and that he never meant to tie immigrants to violence.

But his clarification wasn't good enough for Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade, who told reporters in Laval, Que., that the premier revealed what's in the bottom of his heart regarding immigrants. Anglade, a former member of the CAQ, said she left the party years ago because of its stance on immigration, adding that Legault hasn't evolved on the issue.

“The first thing a premier must do is elevate the debate — that’s clearly not what François Legault did yesterday," Anglade told reporters. "I deplore it and I find that it’s dangerous. Our responsibility is to bring Quebecers together."

Related video: Quebec’s 43rd general election officially kicks off
Duration 2:12 View on Watch



Legault has often been accused by his opponents of suggesting immigrants are a threat. Earlier this year, he said that Quebec risks losing its language and culture if the province doesn’t have more control over immigration. The premier even warned that Quebec could become like the state of Louisiana — formerly under the control of France — where only a fraction of the population still speaks French.

Meanwhile, Québec solidaire spokesman Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said Legault underestimates the impact of tying immigration to violence.

"Immigration isn't just a debate about statistics, it's people, and when we debate or we talk about them all wrong, it has an impact on their daily lives, and I don't think François Legault is conscious of that," Nadeau-Dubois said in Sherbrooke, Que.

Asked if immigration could become a ballot question, Legault said it's an important issue for the long-term preservation of French in the province, noting that the Liberals and Québec solidaire have both proposed increasing immigration levels.

"It's a question, I think, that is very important to many francophones in Quebec," Legault said, after making an announcement about helicopter service for patients in regions who require transport for urgent and specialized medical care.

Also Thursday, the Liberals promised that if elected they would introduce free lunchtime care for elementary school students.

Québec solidaire's Nadeau-Dubois was in Sherbrooke, where his party's incumbent is in a tight race with the CAQ. He promised to build 25,000 social housing units in the province during a first term if elected.

Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon campaigned on measures to better balance powers in the legislature between backbench members and the premier's office.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2022.

— With files from Caroline Plante and Patrice Bergeron.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press

Legault apologizes for comments citing 'extremism,' 'violence' as reasons to limit immigration

Verity Stevenson, Antoni Nerestant - Wednesday - CBC


François Legault has apologized for comments he made citing the threat of "extremism" and "violence" as well as the need to preserve Quebec's way of life as reasons to limit the number of immigrants to the province.


CAQ Leader François Legault said integrating newcomers poses a challenge for the province of Quebec, especially as it relates to preserving its values and way of life

.© Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press

"Immigration is a richness for Quebec," the leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec tweeted Wednesday late afternoon, hours after he made the statement at an election campaign stop in Victoriaville, Que.

"Integration will always be a challenge for a French-speaking nation in North America. I didn't mean to associate immigration with violence. I am sorry if my comments caused confusion. My desire is to unite."

By the time Legault sent the tweet to apologize at 5:44 p.m., his comments had drawn criticism from other party leaders vying for the premiership and were beginning to overshadow other election campaign news of the day.

When he said them, Legault had been asked why he was so adamant about keeping Quebec's immigration levels lower than 50,000, despite the province's serious labour shortage.

"Quebecers are peaceful," he'd said. "They don't like conflict and extremism, and violence. And we have to make sure to keep things the way they are now."

Legault also repeated an argument he and other CAQ candidates have often used to defend the party stance, saying Quebec struggles to integrate newcomers, and that it wasn't alone in among provinces and jurisdictions around the world having that challenge.

He did not explain what he meant by integration or how immigrants in the province were having difficulty doing it — but said it was harder in Quebec because of its francophone status on a mostly English-speaking continent.

"It presents a big challenge of integration [as far as] the type of society we want. After all, in our society, we have [certain] values," Legault said, pointing to secularism and "respect" as examples.

"There is way of living here and we want to keep it."

On Thursday, the CAQ leader expanded on his apology during another appearance on the campaign trail. He said he was wrong to single out specific values as belonging to Quebec society and that doing so could sow confusion.

"I was answering questions and I answered questions pertaining to values and that's a delicate topic that I should avoid," he said.

During the campaign, competing parties have established different immigration targets. Legault has said a limit of about 50,000 newcomers per year would help protect the French language.

The Parti Québécois has promised to slash the number of newly arrived immigrants to 35,000. Only Québec Solidaire and the Quebec Liberals are committed to welcoming more than 50,000 newcomers.

Quebec's immigration levels have been set at between 40,000 and 50,000 annually in recent years, but the province has said it would welcome nearly 70,000 immigrants in 2022 to make up for shortfalls during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The federal Liberal government, meanwhile, wants to bring in 450,000 immigrants annually across the country.

Business groups have called for more immigrants to help address the labour shortage.

Comments divisive and 'dangerous,' Quebec Liberal leader says

Legault's comments swiftly drew criticism from members of other parties, including Dominique Anglade, the leader of the Quebec Liberals.

Anglade called Legault's comments "dangerous," and said the last thing the province needs is people who stoke division.

"François Legault never ceases to divide Quebecers," she said.

Stéphanie Valois, the president of the province's association of immigration lawyers, said people who choose to come to Quebec and other provinces do so because they want to participate in the Quebec and Canadian way of life.

"I don't see any immigration that would bring violence or any conflicts. This is really not the immigration I know about," Valois said.

"I think we all need to remember that immigration is an important issue for our society for sure. In our society we're already composed of a vast majority of immigrants, whether it be first, second or third generation."

Quebec Conservative Party Leader Éric Duhaime and Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon had also condemned the comments. The Conservative party candidate for Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Louise Poudrier, is set to appear on the Youtube show of André Pitre, who has shared racist conspiracy theories, this evening.

SOCIALIST, GREEN, FEMINIST ALTERNATIVE

Québec solidaire is the preferred choice among province's youth, but will they vote?

Thursday

MONTREAL — Gabriel-Nadeau Dubois stepped up to the lectern in a park in east-end Montreal on Wednesday, promising to deliver what he called a "transport revolution."



With his forest-green suit and the St. Lawrence River as a backdrop, the 32-year-old co-spokesperson of Québec solidaire delivered the latest in a series of bold promises that have included a surcharge on SUVs and other polluting vehicles, new taxes on wealth and large inheritances and a promise to buy 10,000 homes to resell at a discount.

Young people, it appears, are listening.

While poll after poll puts François Legault's Coalition Avenir Québec far ahead of the pack in the race to the Oct. 3 provincial election, the top pick for voters between the age of 18 and 34 is Québec solidaire, a left-wing sovereigntist party focused on climate change, wealth inequality and the housing crisis.

Nadeau-Dubois, who shares party "co-spokesperson" duties with Manon Massé, is a former leader of Quebec's 2012 student protests. He's counting on continued support from young, educated Quebecers, who are also the demographic least likely to show up at the ballot box.

While his promises have drawn scorn from his adversaries, Nadeau-Dubois isn't afraid to say society needs to change if it wants to fight the climate crisis and pay for services for the elderly, among others. His party's slogan, "Changer d'ére," translates to "change the era."

"I am honest with Quebecers. I am transparent with Quebecers when I tell them things need to change," he said Wednesday. "Things need to change if we want a great future for our kids and grandparents."

On Wednesday, he announced an eight-year, $47-billion plan to invest in the Montreal region's public transit network through subway expansion, a new tramway and reserved bus lanes.

It's the kind of promise that appeals to his young base, who helped propel the party to a breakthrough 10 seats in 2018, up from three the election before.

A Léger survey published at the end of August showed the Coalition Avenir Québec in the lead overall, with 42 per cent support compared to 17 for the Liberals and 15 for Québec solidaire. But among voters between the ages of 18 and 34, Québec solidaire led with 36 per cent support, compared to 26 for the CAQ and 16 for the Conservatives — another party that has seen an increase in youth support.

Danielle Pilette, an associate professor of strategy, social responsibility and environment at the Université du Québec à Montréal, says younger Quebec voters have been strongly influenced by the massive 2012 protests over proposed tuition hikes, in which tens of thousands of angry students followed Nadeau-Dubois into the streets.

She said the protests created an enduring interest in issues such as access to higher education and environmental causes and also led many to turn against the old-guard Liberals and Parti Québécois, who they saw as failing to respond to their concerns.

She said it's no surprise that many of those voters are turning to Québec solidaire, which champions the environment and class equality. But she noted that young, educated voters are less "homogeneous" than older ones, which explains why some are turning to the "social order" promised by the Conservatives.

And any party depending on the youth vote has a difficult path to victory. Not only are they a smaller segment of an aging society, but they're less likely to vote.

In the last Quebec election in 2018, only 53 per cent of voters under 35 cast a ballot, compared to nearly 70 per cent of those 35 and up.

As Nadeau-Dubois delivered his transit promise in Montreal's east end, his co-spokesperson was in Trois-Rivières and Quebec City, continuing her weeks-long tour of the province's universities.

In an interview, Massé said her approach is to listen to what young people have to say and remind them that they can make a difference.

"Youth under 34 represent almost a third of Quebec's electorate, and consequently if they vote they have the possibility of shaping the result of the vote," she said in a phone interview.

"That seems to hit them as an argument, because I've seen in the last few days that they feel that their vote can count."

Those who don't vote, she said, usually tell her it's because they don't feel politicians care enough about the issues that are important to them, such as climate change.

While it may appear odd for the party to send a silver-haired 59-year-old to reach out to students, Massé said she was happy to relinquish the role of parliamentary leader and would-be premier to her younger colleague in order to focus on what she feels is her biggest strength: connecting with voters on the ground.

Pilette believes Québec solidaire has a strong base of passionate young supporters, and that getting them out to vote isn't the party's biggest problem.

The party's challenge, rather, is appealing to older generations who will likely be put off by the more radical promises, such as a tax on wealth or inheritances over $1 million, she said.

She also believes the party may be relying too heavily on Nadeau-Dubois, who she feels cuts a more "dogmatic" and less sympathetic figure than Massé, who is known for being approachable and clear-spoken.

"We're seeing the limits of their program, especially when it comes to taxation, and we're seeing the limits of the messenger, who is Mr. Nadeau-Dubois," she said.

Nadeau-Dubois, at the park in Montreal, appeared to recognize the generational divide and called on his young supporters to appeal to their older family members to give his party a chance.

"Talk to your parents, go talk to your aunts, your uncles, your grandparents," he urged them. "We need all generations to work together if we want to succeed in our fight against climate change."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2022.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press

QuickSketch: A look at Québec solidaire spokesman Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois

MONTREAL — Quebec's general election campaign has begun, with voters heading to the polls on Oct. 3. Here's a look at Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the leader of Québec solidaire.


QuickSketch: A look at Québec solidaire spokesman Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois© Provided by The Canadian Press

Born: May 31, 1990, in Montreal.

Early years: Raised in a family of activists in Montreal. His father was an environmentalist and union activist. Nadeau-Dubois was a fan of Star Wars growing up.

Education: Holds a bachelor's degree in history, culture and society from Université du Québec à Montréal (2015) and a master’s degree in sociology from Université du Québec à Montréal (2017).

Before politics: Known for his role during the 2012 "Maple Spring" when he was one of the leaders of a broad coalition of Quebec student associations protesting tuition fee increases.

Political record: First elected with the left-leaning Québec solidaire in 2017, representing the Montreal riding of Gouin. He has served as co-spokesperson with Manon Massé and last year took over from her as the party's parliamentary leader. He has strongly opposed Bill 21, which prohibits some public sector workers from wearing religious symbols on the job.

Riding: Gouin (central Montreal)

Quote: "I will not let François Legault transform this election into a debate on Louisiana or immigration. The housing crisis, the cost-of-living crisis, the environment? I think those are the real priorities of Quebecers," Nadeau-Dubois in 2022 about the language and identity issue in Quebec.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2022.

NDP critic calls for new Hockey Canada audit following claims of high-flying spending

Ashley Burke - Wednesday


NDP MP Peter Julian is pressing Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge to order a new federal audit of Hockey Canada's finances over the past six years in response to allegations that the sports body's directors availed themselves of high-cost hotels, dinners and jewelry.

Julian sent a letter to St-Onge on Tuesday regarding what he called "Hockey Canada's lack of accountability and transparency in managing their expenses."

Julian said a former Hockey Canada board member relayed to him insider information about the spending practices of the eight-member board of directors.

In his letter, Julian referred to board dinners that can "cost more than $5,000, presidential suites for board members that cost over $3,000 per night and gold and diamond rings for board members that cost over $3,000 each."

"As the minister who oversees Sports Canada and Hockey Canada, it is your responsibility to make sure that Hockey Canada uses government funds and hockey parents' registration fees in an accountable and transparent manner," Julian added.

Hockey Canada CEO Scott Smith told a parliamentary committee in July that "the board of directors and our members from time to time have received a version of championship rings and there are some staff members who do have bonuses that relate to medal performance." He didn't disclose amounts.

Hockey Canada has been under intense public scrutiny since May over its use of a reserve fund — fed in part by players' registration fees — to settle a $3.5 million lawsuit alleging members of the 2018 World Junior team sexually assaulted an intoxicated woman.

The federal government froze the hockey organization's funding in June and has ordered an audit to show government funding wasn't used to settle the lawsuit.

When asked for comment by CBC News, Hockey Canada didn't refute the figures Julian quoted for hotels, dinners and rings.

The hockey organization said its board of directors is made up of volunteers who "donate their time and energy" and their expenses related to their duties — including "meetings, food and travel costs" — are covered by the organization.

"As volunteers, directors have received gifts, including as part of welcome packages when attending events or meetings from partners and sponsors," wrote Hockey Canada spokesperson Jeremy Knight.

When members of the board of directors visited the Northwest Territories in 2017, he said, they received traditional Indigenous footwear from Hockey North.

Knight said Hockey Canada issues credit cards to members of the board of directors which are connected to a "travel expense reporting system" and "are to be used strictly for pre-approved travel expenses."

Hockey Canada also confirmed Postmedia's report Tuesday that, for seven years, the organization owned a luxury two-bedroom condo in Maple Leaf Square in downtown Toronto reserved for the use of board members and staff. Hockey Canada said it sold the condo unit in 2017.

"We can confirm that the unit was purchased in 2010 to alleviate costs associated with staff and directors travelling to Toronto and was subsequently sold in 2017," Knight wrote.

Knight said a third-party governance review will examine this practice to "ensure" it's " in-line" with other national sport organizations of a similar size. Hockey Canada commissioned former Supreme Court justice Thomas Cromwell to conduct the review.


Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge. The federal government is looking over Hockey Canada's books to ensure federal money wasn't used to settle a lawsuit alleging sexual assault.

© Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press

St-Onge's office said she already has called for a financial audit to determine whether public funds were used in Hockey Canada's settlement of an alleged group sexual assault in 2018.

The completion of the audit is one of three conditions the federal government set for Hockey Canada to get its funding back.

Financial statements obtained by CBC News show the hockey organization received $14 million in federal government support in 2020 and 2021, including $3.4 million in emergency COVID-19 subsidies.

In fiscal 2021, the $8.3 million in federal funding Hockey Canada received represented 13 per cent of its $62 million in annual funding. Sponsors and events supply about 50 per cent of the organization's revenue, says Hockey Canada's website.

An external firm is also conducting a routine financial review of Hockey Canada's expenditures reported to Canadian Heritage, its governance structure and its policies to manage harassment and abuse, St-Onge's office said. Samson & Associés is conducting that review.

A parliamentary committee is holding public hearings on Hockey Canada's handling of sexual assault allegations.

TSN reported last month that Julian planned to ask the former board member he spoke to — who he said wishes to remain confidential — to testify in-camera before MPs.

DECRIMINALIZE DRUGS

Every death is personal on the frontlines of Yukon's opioid crisis

Anna Desmarais - Thursday - CBC

Diane Nolan stays up late every night, unable to rest or relax, scared that she could lose her child.

A month ago, Nolan got a call that her daughter, 35, had overdosed while her partner was doing the dishes. She spent nine days in the Whitehorse General Hospital, but she survived. Now, without support, Nolan said she lives in constant fear that if there's a next time, her daughter won't make it.

"My heart has been broken. I'm in fear that I might lose her soon if she doesn't get the help that she needs," Nolan told CBC's The Current on their recent trip to the Yukon.

"My daughter's dying and she knows it … It kills her. She cries about it every day."

While Nolan's daughter is one of the Yukon substance users who survived their overdose, there are 19 so far in 2022 who haven't. And in the Yukon, with a population of just over 40,000 people, every substance-use death is magnified.

In the first three months of 2022, the Yukon's chief coroner said the territory's substance use death rate was 74.4 per 100,000 — over three times the national average and well ahead of British Columbia, the province with the second-highest total at 45.3 deaths per 100,000.

Earlier this year, British Columbia said it will decriminalize up to 2.5 grams of some illicit drugs. It's one of many options that the Yukon government is considering, but those on the frontlines say that decision's not coming fast enough.


Diane Nolan's daughter overdosed just a month ago, and lived. But Nolan, pictured here in Whitehorse, said she's worried that without support, her daughter's life is at stake.© CBC

'Grandchildren of the people I grew up with'

Heather Jones has a frontline seat to the overdose crisis, both as the territory's chief coroner and a long-time Yukoner. One in three deaths that her office investigates are now connected to overdoses, she said.

"My role is to give a voice to the dead, and I'm finding through this crisis, that … I'm giving voices to … the children and grandchildren of the people I grew up with," Jones said.

The substance crisis didn't reach the Yukon until 2016. That's when the territory recorded its first substance-use deaths, as their southern neighbours in British Columbia called a state of emergency over their ongoing overdose crisis. The numbers have only skyrocketed since then, with the COVID-19 pandemic kicking the crisis into a higher gear.

It means 2021 is the deadliest year, so far, on record for the territory, with 25 deaths — double 2020's total.

By January, the crisis hit a morbid peak. Nine people died from overdoses in the first three weeks of 2022. Toxicology reports for all the victims revealed the presence of fentanyl in their systems. Three more registered benzodiazepines — both drugs the mark of an increasingly hazardous supply for the territory's users.

The reaction was visceral. Hundreds of people marched in the streets of downtown Whitehorse to mourn the dead and support those grieving families left behind.

"I want the people who have passed away not to have died in vain," one vigil organizer told CBC News in January. "I want them to live on, and to make a change for other people."



Hundreds of people took to the street in January to demand action on overdoses after nine people lost their lives in the first three weeks of 2022.

© Anna Desmarais/CBC

Substance use health emergency

In response to the deaths, the Yukon government called a substance use health emergency on Jan. 20 as a way to provide more funding and support to those on the frontlines. Since then, the Yukon's health department started a working group with experts to decide its next steps, including a possible look at decriminalization.

Cameron Grandy, the Yukon government's director of mental wellness and substance use services, said the government added more workers at the emergency shelter and extended the operation hours of the safe consumption site. They also expanded the site to include users who inhale their drugs — something Grandy credits for a "massive" uptake in the number of people who used it this summer.

Grandy says these new measures are working, but adds the territory is far from out of this crisis.



Whitehorse's supervised consumption site. The Yukon government expanded its hours and added resources for drug users who inhale their drugs. Since then, the government says there's been a 'massive' uptick in the number of people accessing the site.

© Anna Desmarais/CBC

"Are we done thinking of interventions? No," Grandy said. "I'm treating this … as a health emergency.

But despite the government's efforts, Jones, the chief coroner, said the territory is on a "terrifying" track for another deadly year. Nineteen people lost their lives from January to August, with no end in sight, as another long, chilly, dark Yukon winter beckons.

"We have to do things differently," Jones said. "What we're doing now isn't working — I can vouch for that over and over again."

Whitehorse evolves to meet the crisis

Whitehorse is the biggest of the territorial capitals, and growing quickly: census data shows the population is up 12 per cent from just five years ago.

Despite this, the interconnectedness of everyone who's born and raised on Yukon soil still stays the same, notes RJ McCarthy, a citizen of the Teslin Tlingit Council, who has lived in the territory for most of the last 20 years.

"We don't have time to grieve … before you know, someone else's passed away," he said. "It's just like we're always in a state of shock from losing people."



RJ McCarthy, a citizen of the Teslin Tlingit Council, stands in front of the Yukon River. McCarthy, once a self-described 'functioning user,' now tells young people that there are other alternatives out there for them.© CBC

McCarthy knows this life well. Now sober, he said he was a "functioning user" for years after getting addicted to pain medication after a serious car crash. Losing a girlfriend set him on the path to using harder drugs — first cocaine, then methadone.

Over time, he said he leaned into the teachings about traditional medicines and spirituality from his Tlingit elders as a way to cope. These help him "walk a better path," for him, his three children and six grandchildren, he said.

There are also resources downtown that weren't here when McCarthy was using. There's the new safe consumption site that opened last September, and a new skate park. He's also noticed more cultural services at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre, and there's a non-profit, called Blood Ties Four Directions, that does street outreach and raises awareness on issues like safe supply and the substance use crisis.



A boy rides his scooter in Whitehorse's skatepark just outside the downtown core.

© Anna Desmarais/CBC

That's where McCarthy now spends some time telling young people how to use safely.

"[I tell them to] look out for each other and never do opioids alone," he said. "And me being sober too, hopefully they just kind of see that and lean that way, too."

'What can we do as parents besides sit there and watch'

In late August, months after the initial substance use emergency declaration, a small group of people gathered at Whitehorse's supervised consumption site to grieve and comfort each other on International Overdose Awareness Day.

People wrote messages of support to their departed loved ones and community members on a memorial tree. They received training on how to apply naloxone. They shared stew, bannock, laughs and tears.



A message of hope left by a Yukoner on International 

Overdose Awareness Day in late August in Whitehorse.

© Anna Desmarais/CBC

Among the small group was Nolan. Unsure of where to direct her emotions about her daughter, Nolan's been relying on friends and family to get her through. Gatherings like this one, she said, are a reminder that she's not alone.

"What can we do as parents besides sit there and watch," Nolan said. "We don't have any workshops on what parents can do, or families."

Jones, the chief coroner, said the Yukon government's substance use emergency declaration was a great first step. So, too, would be an eventual move to decriminalization. But that alone won't be able to break the cycle, according to Jones.

Users also need better access to safe supply and detox programs, she said. And quickly — before those who are actively looking to recover, instead succumb to the crisis.


Nolan checks for texts from her daughter. She's been relying on friends and family to help her cope in the aftermath of her daughter's overdose.

© Anna Desmarais/CBC

Produced by Ben Jamieson and Elizabeth Hoath.

Nunavut Inuit headed to France to seek extradition of former Oblate priest


Tanya Tungilik says she wants to meet face to face with the former French Oblate priest her late father alleged sexually abused him as a child.

Nunavut Inuit headed to France to seek extradition of former 

Oblate priest

© Provided by The Canadian Press

She is to join a delegation of Inuit planning to travel from Nunavut to Paris and Lyon, France, next week to seek the extradition of Father Johannes Rivoire to Canada. The trip, led by Nunavut Tunnagavik Inc., a group representing Nunavut Inuit, is to also include Tungilik's brother, Jesse Tungilik, and Steve Mapsalak, who has also accused Rivoire of abuse.

Tungilik says her father, Marius Tungilik, who died in 2012, alleged he was sexually abused by Rivoire when he was 13 years old while working at the Co-op store in Naujaat, Nvt. Those accusations have never been heard in court.

"I want to see Rivoire himself in Lyon and tell him what he did to my dad and to our family," Tungilik said. "I want him to know how it affected us and that my dad died because of him from all the trauma he had gone through."

Marius Tungilik had said he was also sexually abused as a child by an Oblate brother at Sir Joseph Bernier Federal Day School and its student residence Turquetil Hall in Chesterfield Inlet, Nvt. His disclosure played a role in prompting an apology from Roman Catholic Bishop Renald Rouleau in 1996, which he helped to write.

Tanya Tungilik shared her family's story with Pope Francis when he visited Iqaluit earlier this summer, when he apologized for the role the Roman Catholic Church played in the residential school system.

Rivoire, who is now 91 years old and lives in Lyon, has long been accused of sexually abusing Inuit children when he was an Oblate priest in Nunavut from the 1960s until 1993, when he returned to France.

A Canadian warrant was issued for his arrest in 1998 but four criminal charges were stayed in 2017.

Following a new complaint to the Nunavut RCMP in 2021, Rivoire was charged in February with one count of indecent assault of a girl in Arviat and Whale Cove between 1974 and 1979. A fresh Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest and Canadian judicial authorities sent an extradition request to France.


Although Canada and France share an extradition treaty, it does not require either country to extradite its own citizens.

Rivoire denied the allegations against him in an interview with APTN from his retirement home this summer, and said he does not plan to return to Canada.

Kilikvak Kabloona, CEO of Nunavut Tunnagavik Inc., said the Oblates have told the group that Rivoire refuses to surrender and it has no other course of action. She said while the Oblates have expressed their support for the request to have Rivoire extradited, she is concerned they continue to pay for his living costs in France and his lawyer.

Father Ken Thorson of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate said the organization is not covering Rivoire's living costs or legal fees.

"Our primary contact with him has been repeated efforts to encourage him to return to Canada and face the charges laid against him," Thorson wrote.

Nunavut Tunnagavik Inc.'s president, Aluki Kotierk, said she's hoping to raise awareness about the case in France and believes the French public will support Rivoire's extradition, particularly since a report released in October 2021 detailed the widespread sexual abuse of children by clerics in the French Catholic Church over the past 70 years.

The delegation has requested to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti while they are in Paris, but have not received a response.

Kotierk said Rivoire, through his lawyer, declined to meet with delegation members while they are in Lyon, but she is hoping he will change his mind.

Tungilik said if Rivoire refuses to meet, she plans to protest outside his residence.

During their time in France, the delegation also plans to meet with Sister Veronique Margron, president of the Conference of Religious in France, Antoine Garrapon, head of the commission responsible for compensating victims of abuse from the French Catholic Church, and Father Vincent Gruber, who leads France's Oblates.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2022.

___

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian press News Fellowship.

Emily Blake, The Canadian Press

EMOTIONAL PLAGUE

Mass killings in a digital age: Why experts say online scrolling can cause offline symptoms

Rachel Gilmore - Wednesday

Warning: This story contains descriptions of graphic violence that may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised.


Researchers warn that looking at images of mass violence can have a real psychological impact.© (File / Getty Images)

As they swipe through TikTok, more than a million viewers in the last two days have stumbled upon a video showing a woman staring into the camera. The accompanying text says she went to bed on Saturday not knowing what she'd wake up to.

The video continues and the image changes. The same woman is seen in multiple photos that show wounds all over her body -- injuries she says she obtained as a result of a mass stabbing in Saskatchewan over the weekend.

At least 11 people died in the stabbing, including one of two suspects, and 19 were injured, according to the RCMP. A second suspect remains at large.

"My heart aches for my community," her caption reads.

"I am so thankful I survived."

Global News has seen the video but has not independently verified the woman's story. At the time of publication, the woman had not responded to requests for comment about the video.

However, her video is not unique. In the digital age, footage and photographs of mass killing events such as a shooting at an elementary school in Texas, the Boston Marathon bombing, and a mass shooting at a festival in Las Vegas spread like wildfire across different platforms -- and in some cases, researchers say the viewers pay a psychological price.

"The advent of social media has really upped the ante. So now people are being exposed at an unprecedented rate to these kinds of images," Dr. Alison Holman, a professor at the University of California Irvine who researches collective trauma and media exposure, told Global News in an interview.

There are signs you can watch for as you consume media, she said -- and steps you can take if you start to feel the impact of a world where images of beheadings, bomb blasts and bloodshed are just clicks away.

When two gunman stormed a Charlie Hebdo office in Paris in 2015, some onlookers did what many others do in the 21st century: they started recording.

One man managed to capture a devastating scene on film.

On the street just after the newsroom was attacked, one of the gunmen fired on a police officer. After being injured, the officer fell with an arm outstretched to protect himself.

The gunman approached and asked whether the officer intended to kill them. The officer could be heard answering no. They shot him anyway.

Video: Charlie Hebdo shooting: 14 people found guilty in connection with 2015 terror attack

The footage was blasted across news networks. That was how Malek Merabet said he learned his brother had been shot in cold blood.

"How dare you take this video and broadcast it? I heard his voice, I recognized him, I saw him being killed and I continue to hear him every day," Merabet scolded reporters in a press conference, according to The Guardian.

You don't have to be related to the victims to be traumatized by footage of violence, according to researchers. After seeing ISIS footage of a pilot being burned to death in a locked cage, Holman said a colleague of hers was contacted by a student who was deeply affected.

"She had a student from Connecticut reach out to her and say, 'I watched that video and I can't function. I can't think, I'm so distressed. I can't function as a student. I can't do my schoolwork. I can't do anything. I am so distressed,'" Holman said.

That student isn't alone. Repeated studies have found that images and footage of mass traumas can impact viewers -- even if they weren't there.

According to a study Holman co-authored in 2013, "media coverage of collective traumas may trigger psychological distress in individuals outside the directly affected community."

"Repeatedly engaging with trauma-related media content for several hours daily shortly after collective trauma may prolong acute stress experiences and promote substantial stress-related symptomatology," the study's abstract details.

Read more:

Videos of RCMP officers killing Nova Scotia mass shooter released

Related video: Finding solutions after OTR mass shooting  View on Watch

If someone is repeatedly exposed to trauma-related content, the study found, they are more likely to ruminate on the event and have intrusive thoughts, have their "fear circuitry" activated, and could develop flashbacks.

Constantly thinking about scary and worrying things can also make their heart race, it found, which "could foster the development of stress-related disease."

Similar findings emerged in a 2017 study that the University of Bradford's Dr. Pam Ramsden published in the Journal of Depression and Anxiety.

Ramsden found that 20 per cent of her research participants across four clinical studies were "significantly affected by media events" and "scored high on clinical measures of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

The participants, Ramsden noted, had no previous trauma and were not present at the traumatic events -- they had just watched them on social media.

"My research indicates that the general populations are being affected by the viewing of violent images on social media and are being affected by vicarious trauma," Ramsden concluded.

There are symptoms people can watch out for that might suggest when it's time to take a break from scrolling through graphic images or reading the news -- at least for a little while, according to Phyllis O'Connor, executive director of the Saskatchewan division of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).

If you start to feel anxiety, hopelessness or depression as you look at the images, O'Connor said it might be a sign to reach out for help.

"There is absolutely no shame in asking for the help if you're feeling that this is having a negative effect on you," O'Connor said.

Anxiety symptoms include feeling restless or on-edge, easily fatigued, irritable and having difficulty concentrating, according to the National Institute on Mental Health. Having a hard time shaking feelings of worry can be a sign too.

Particularly for people with a history of PTSD or trauma, extra care might be wise as they navigate these images, O'Connor added.

Video: Reaching out a big step in processing trauma: Clinical psychologist

Just as some people will have to take more precautions when it comes to these images, not all images have the same level of impact, according to Holman. During her research, she says she noticed that images with a significant amount of blood and gore tend to impact the viewer more heavily.

Most news organizations have ethical guidelines that try to help journalists make the difficult decisions of when to public graphic content -- and when warnings are necessary. Both the Niemen and Poynter foundations, which undertake prominent work on journalistic ethics and principles, have repeatedly written about the need to carefully weigh the public interest of publishing graphic content against the negative impact it can have on the reader or viewer.

"The more sort of graphic and gory images were associated with higher levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms three years after 9-11," Holman explained.

"So the persistence of these negative symptoms over time is associated with too much exposure or more frequent exposure to these images."

The same held true for images from the Boston Marathon bombing, which took place in 2013 and killed three people.

"What we showed was that exposure to bloody images in particular appeared to be one of the mechanisms by which people who saw things in the media experienced ongoing distress," Holman said.

The solution here isn't to stop reading the news or to quit social media altogether, according to Holman and O'Connor.

Rather, individual users should try to limit their exposure to parts of the internet where these kinds of traumatic images can circulate without warnings, they said.

"I don't say don't engage with the news. I'd say limit how much time you engage in the news," Holman explained.

For example, someone with a tendency to be triggered by violence or traumatic images might want to make deliberate efforts not to let curiosity win out when encountering trigger warnings -- which are tools most mainstream news outlets use before showing graphic images or videos.

Read more:
The dark side of social media: What Canada is — and isn’t — doing about it

As for social media platforms, however, it can be more difficult to avoid shocking images.

"You can open up a social media app and you do not have a choice to have that image (shown). Those videos can start up on you," Holman said.

Many sites, such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, try to give warnings before showing a video or image that contains graphic content, but they are not always successful.

A spokesperson for Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said the company removes content that "glorifies violence or celebrates the suffering or humiliation of others." It also has the capacity to designate events as "violating," which is something the company did with the stabbing in Saskatchewan over the weekend.

"We will remove accounts associated with the perpetrators, or any content that praises, supports or represents the attacks or the identified suspects," the spokesperson said.

YouTube has some wiggle room with respect to its policies so that people can "learn about history or current events," a spokesperson told Global News.

"Sometimes videos that might otherwise violate our policies may be allowed to stay on YouTube if the content offers a compelling reason with visible context for viewers," they explained.

"Graphic or controversial footage may be allowed if it’s educational but it may also have age-restrictions or a warning screen."

Video: Navigating toxic trends on TikTok

TikTok, meanwhile, does "not allow content which promotes or glorifies violence," a spokesperson said.

"We provide safeguards to help prevent people from unexpectedly viewing potentially upsetting content, including opt-in screens on certain videos," they said.

However, with so many users uploading their own content on these platforms on a regular basis, sometimes a traumatizing video will slip through the cracks -- at the same time, what might be traumatizing for one person is not always the same kind of content as what could be traumatizing for another.

"I don't think, personally, that we're ever going to be able to be 100 per cent sure that something really horrible doesn't go out on social media and is seen by a number of people before it gets pulled off it," O'Connor said.

"They can't do it. It's just too immediate."

It's a good idea, then, to be vigilant when a mass killing or tragedy occurs. Get the information you need from any given website -- and then get out, the researchers said.

"My tip to people is don't expose yourself to it," Holman said.

"Don't repeatedly watch it. Don't force yourself to watch it."

Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis is encouraged to use the following resources:

Mental Health & Addictions Provincial Crisis Line: 1-888-429-8167

Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) Available 24/7 or Text CONNECT 686868

Emergency: 911

RIP

A look at the victims of the Saskatchewan stabbing attacks

Thursday

JAMES SMITH CREE NATION — Ten people were killed in a series of stabbings on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby community of Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon, on Sunday. Police say 18 others were injured. A suspect was found dead on Monday and a second suspect died Wednesday after he was taken into police custody.


A look at the victims of the Saskatchewan stabbing attacks© Provided by The Canadian Press


Here is a look at some of the victims:

Bonnie Burns, 48

Bonnie Burns was a true matriarch who prioritized her family and home, said her brother, Mark Arcand. She had four sons and two foster children, all of whom were home at the time of the attack.

Burns was killed outside her home on the First Nation while trying to shield her children, he said, describing her as a "mama bear" protecting her cubs. Her son, Gregory, was also killed and another son was stabbed in the neck but survived.

"She's not a victim, she's a hero," Arcand said.

Burns "married into" the community and was always volunteering and helping out, and would make her husband, Brian, come along, Arcand said. She had been working at a school over the last few years to help provide for her family, he said.

She made a big difference in people's lives, and always put others first, he said. "It didn’t matter what you did in your life, she was proud of you."

Burns had also been sober for 15 years, her brother said. She and her husband were always joking and laughing together, he added. The couple met in 1990.

Brian Burns said it would have been their wedding anniversary on Sept. 24. They got married on her birthday so they’d never forget their anniversary.

_

Gregory Burns, 28

Widely known as "Jonesy," Gregory Burns was a "great kid" who did whatever he could for his family, and died trying to protect them, his uncle Mark Arcand said.

Burns worked in the community of James Smith Cree Nation, built houses and tried to help his parents take care of his younger brothers, Arcand said. He had two children and a third on the way.

"This young man had opportunities to work, he was fully employable. He had lots of tickets and opportunities," but his life was taken away, Arcand said.

_

Earl Burns, 66

Family said Earl Burns was a loving father and grandfather who died protecting his family.

Garnet Eyahpaise was still trying to comprehend the violent attack that claimed the life of his brother-in-law.

He said they both attended the St. Michael's Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan. Eyahpaise later married a sister of Burns.

Burns was a veteran with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

"His parents were very proud of the fact that he enlisted, that he chose to serve this country. He never seen battle, but nonetheless he still served this country," said Eyahpaise.

Burns also followed in his father's footsteps in the '70s and participated in the rodeo circuit. He rode both bare and saddle back, Eyahpaise said.

Burns liked to play hockey. Another favourite pastime was fishing. "All his famous catches are mounted on his wall," said his brother-in-law.

Burns and his wife were parents to two daughters and a son, along with many grandchildren. His wife was also injured in the attacks and remains in hospital.

_

Lydia Gloria Burns, 61

Media reports quoted siblings as saying Lydia Burns, who went by Gloria, was a first responder on the reserve. CBC reported that she was killed while responding to a crisis call during the attacks.

"Knowing you, you would do anything for anyone! You're the most courageous person I know. You're a hero!" friend Darla Rabesca posted on Facebook. "Heaven has definitely gained a beautiful angel!"

_

Carol Burns, 46

Colin Perret says he worked with Carol Burns at SaskTel in Prince Albert for several years.

"You don’t see too many people like that every day," he said of his former colleague.

"She just lifted other people up and she made people’s lives better without even trying."

He said Burns was visiting James Smith Cree Nation with her two sons over the long weekend. Her son Thomas was also killed.

In a Facebook post from Perret, others commented about the woman’s infectious laugh and colourful sense of humour.

"She had an immense love of family and was proud to be Indigenous,” Perret wrote.

_

Thomas Burns, 23

A former co-worker shared memories of working with Thomas Burns in a Facebook post.

She said she will miss receiving random messages and video calls from the youngest victim in the attacks.

She wrote: "You were so funny and kind and you didn't deserve this at all."

_

Lana Head, 49

Several media reports have said Head was a mother of two daughters. CBC quoted Head's former partner, Michael Brett Burns, as saying she was a security guard at Northern Lights Casino in Prince Albert, Sask.

"Rest In Peace beautiful, you truly were an amazing person and had such a sweet innocent demeanour with such laughter," friend Anne Day wrote on Head's Facebook page.

"I will miss our chats and seeing your chipmunk cheek smile," posted Teresa Stewart. "May you be guided into the spirit world wrapped in comfort, peace and love."

_

Christian Head, 54

A Facebook page for Christian Head shows that he was a golfer and enjoyed going to car shows.

He posted several photos of himself wearing orange shirts to honour children who died at residential schools. He also posted photos of his grandchildren.

In one photo with two toddlers, the caption reads: "Papa Chick's visitors for the day. Lots of fun teaching them to talk. Understanding them is the cutest and how they all communicate at this age — amazing. Listening is key."

An older grandchild posted a photo of himself and Head wearing Edmonton Oilers hockey jerseys. "I keep wishing I could see you one last time. May you rest in peace, Papa Chicken."

_

Robert Sanderson, 49

Online tributes and condolences have poured in for Robert Sanderson, who also went by Bobby.

One family member posted a slide show of photos of Sanderson throughout his life set to a song from Vancouver-duo Dani and Lizzy. A snippet of their song "Dancing in the Sky" can be heard with the lyrics, "I hope you're dancing in the sky. And I hope you're singing in the angel's choir. And I hope the angels know what they have."

Sanderson posted about his cooking and catering efforts on his Facebook page. One person thanked him for providing the food for a birthday party.

_

Wesley Petterson, 78

All 10 victims were from the James Smith Cree Nation, except for Wesley Petterson, who lived 30 kilometres away in the village of Weldon.

He loved his cats, was proud of his homemade Saskatoon berry jam and frequently helped out his neighbours, said resident Ruby Works.

She said she thought of him as an uncle and collapsed when she found out he had been killed.

"He didn't do anything. He didn't deserve this. He was a good, kind-hearted man," said Works.

Resident Robert Rush said Petterson was a widower who lived with his adult grandson. He said the grandson was in the basement of their home when Petterson was attacked.

"He stayed down there until they were gone."

_

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2022.

Sanderson tried to kill one of the mass stabbing victims before, court records show

Katie Nicholson, Carly Thomas - Wednesday

The prime suspect in the recent mass stabbing in Saskatchewan tried to kill one of the victims seven years ago, court records reveal.

Those records say Myles Sanderson tried to kill his father-in-law, Earl Burns, in January 2015 by repeatedly stabbing him with a knife. He also assaulted another Burns family member. Sanderson was convicted and sentenced to two years less a day.

Burns, 66, was among the 10 people killed over the weekend, police said Wednesday, in the rampage in James Smith Cree Nation and nearby Weldon, Sask.

Burns was a veteran who served with Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. In a tribute, Veterans Voices of Canada said he "gave his life to save his wife and grandchildren" during Sunday's attack.

Sanderson died Wednesday night after being taken into custody.

The court records say Sanderson was also convicted in 2018 for trying to stab two other men in the First Nation with a cheese knife.



RCMP officers stand on Highway 11 near Rosthern, Sask., after Sanderson's arrest.© Kendall Latimer/CBC

They also show a long history of intimate partner violence charges and convictions. Sanderson was first charged with assault against his partner in 2011. That charge was eventually dropped.

A year later Sanderson was brought up on fresh assault charges for attacking her. He was convicted and handed 18 months probation and ordered to stay away from alcohol and drugs. He was also ordered to undergo counselling for anger management and domestic violence and to complete an addictions program.

He was charged again in 2013 for assaulting the same woman and stealing a car, after which he was handed another 18 months probation. Sanderson was once again ordered to stay away from alcohol and start addictions counselling.

New charges were laid against him for assaulting her again in 2015 and 2018.

The records show that time and again he was ordered to stay away from the woman, to get counselling, and even to write her an apology.

In November 2017 he was charged in Regina with both assaulting someone and possessing a sawed-off shotgun. He was also charged on the same day with robbing a restaurant.

He was found guilty of the assault and robbery but the weapons charge was dropped. Sanderson was sentenced to nine months and three years in federal prison, to be served concurrently.

It's not clear why he was still free in June 2018 when he assaulted an RCMP officer at James Smith Cree Nation who was attempting to arrest him. He was sentenced to 569 days in prison to be served concurrently with his other sentences.

After serving two-thirds of that sentence he was eligible for statutory release in August 2021. By November his release was suspended when it emerged he lied about staying with his ex-partner, in breach of conditions.

But in February the Parole Board of Canada lifted that suspension.

"It is the Board's opinion that you will not present an undue risk to society if released on statutory release and that your release will contribute to the protection of society by facilitating your reintegration into society as a law–abiding citizen," the board said in its decision.

'Like TNT': Experts say Saskatchewan attacks underscore need for justice support

The Canadian Press

A deadly stabbing rampage over the Labour Day weekend in rural Saskatchewan underscores a critical lack of social supports in Canada's justice system, experts say.

RCMP have named Myles Sanderson, 32, as a suspect in Sunday's attacks on the James Smith Cree Nation and nearby village of Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon, that left 10 people dead and 18 injured. His younger brother Damien Sanderson, who had also been named a suspect, was also found dead near one of the crime scenes Monday from wounds police said were not self-inflicted.

Myles Sanderson was taken into custody near the town of Rosthern, Sask., on Wednesday.

Darryl Davies, a criminology expert at Carleton University, said risk factors for violent crime are well understood in his field and Sanderson’s profile, as described in a February decision from the Parole Board of Canada, should have given off more warning signs.

"This person is like TNT, is going to explode any time," he said.

Sanderson's August 2021 statutory release from prison was revoked after four months because he didn’t communicate with his parole supervisor, according to the decision obtained by The Canadian Press.

The board described Sanderson's violent criminal history as "concerning," but decided to reinstate his release with a reprimand after concluding he "will not present an undue risk to society."

Davies, who had a decades-long career as a parole officer, said the situation points to what he sees as chronic dysfunction in how the Canadian government and justice system approach preventing violent crime.

"Our justice system is in chaos at the moment."

Davies said too much money is spent on funding police forces and the correctional system and too little on social and economic supports for people who grew up around violence, poverty and addiction.

The Parole Board said Wednesday that it would be convening a joint investigation, along with the Correctional Service of Canada, to fully understand the events surrounding Sanderson's statutory release and supervision in the community.

"The purpose of the joint (investigation) is to analyze all of the facts and circumstances around this case, including whether laws, policies and protocols were followed, and to identify any recommendations and corrective measures," the board said in an emailed statement.

It said the two agencies would also ensure the probe does not interfere with the RCMP's investigation into the slayings and they are committed to publicly sharing the results, as well as any measures that result from its recommendations.

Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told reporters Tuesday he agrees the board's decision-making process in general should be examined.

He cautioned against trying to find an easy explanation.

"There's a propensity sometimes to try to distil it to a simple cause," he said in Vancouver. "I think we should resist that temptation and rather, right now, focus our efforts on doing everything we can to support the community at this difficult time."

Davies said better funding of schools, housing and addiction supports would go a long way to preventing violence.

In addition to raising concerns about Sanderson's history of domestic violence and use of weapons, the Parole Board document also detailed a childhood marked by violence, neglect and substance abuse.

Sanderson began drinking and using marijuana at age 12, it said, and noted many of his crimes as an adult happened when he was intoxicated.

Steve Joordens, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus, agreed more social supports are needed for children experiencing hardship and for people convicted of crimes.

Joordens said people who commit mass violent attacks generally have reached a point of detachment from others and feel a lack of empathy for victims. That can often be traced back to trauma and isolation from others that's turned into anger, he added.

"It's a hard thing to undo. And it's certainly not going to be undone simply by sort of letting people into society and hoping they reintegrate and they make some friends and everything works out," he said, adding parole conditions that incorporate elements of social connection and support could help.

"If we don't change anything about the circumstances, there's probably a good chance they're going to fail again, where failure is committing whatever crime they committed."

Joordens said the situation also speaks to challenges the justice system faces around predicting violent behaviour.

"It's what every parole board worries about, I'm sure: You let somebody on parole and that person will go do something absolutely horrific," he said.

"But probably the vast majority of the time, nothing like that happens."

The parole document said Sanderson grew up between his father's home in an urban centre and his grandparents' house on a First Nation and that there was violence and abuse in both households.

Sol Mamakwa, an Indigenous legislator and deputy leader of the Ontario NDP, said the role of historic and ongoing oppression of Indigenous people in Canada needs to be acknowledged in the aftermath of the slayings.

"Oppression, colonialism has become a way of life for Indigenous people. I think that's why we need to be able to start acknowledging the past and move forward together as a province, as a country," he said.

"It's going to take some time, but I think to learn about the history, acknowledge that — I think that's where change starts."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2022.

— with files from Angela Amato in Edmonton.

Holly McKenzie-Sutter, The Canadian Press

Wisconsin judge rules against Enbridge on Line 5, but stops short of shutdown

Thursday

WASHINGTON — The Line 5 pipeline has won a stay of execution in Wisconsin, where a federal judge sided with an Indigenous group's complaint but stopped short of ordering the controversial cross-border energy link shut down entirely.


Wisconsin judge rules against Enbridge on Line 5, but stops short of shutdown

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa was within its rights to revoke permission for the pipeline to cross its territory back in 2013, District Court Judge William Conley said in a written decision issued late Wednesday.

And the pipeline's owner and operator, Calgary-based Enbridge Inc., should have known that its 1992 agreement with the band would not by itself be a guarantee of Line 5's continued operation, Conley ruled.

But the judge balked at the request for an injunction to stop the pipeline from operating, citing the risk of "widespread economic consequences" and "significant public and foreign policy implications."

He also acknowledged the decision late last month by Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly to invoke a 1977 Canada-U. S. energy transit treaty in the case, a move designed to stave off the risk of a wholesale closure.

"It is possible to craft injunctive relief that would not interfere with the transit treaty or Canada's concerns about the economic impact of an immediate shutdown," Conley wrote, noting that Enbridge has already been working on rerouting the line around Bad River territory.

Conley also found that the band is entitled to financial compensation from Enbridge, although the decision does not go into detail on that front.

He said the court is "inclined" to order that the planned rerouting be completed within five years, and that Enbridge also pay an interim easement fee that would double if the deadline for the work isn't met. But he held off, pending the outcome of a status conference with the parties.

"The band looks forward to engaging in that process and educating the court as to the imperatives of ceasing operation of Line 5 on the reservation with all deliberate speed," said Claire Newman, a member of the Bad River legal team.

She called the decision "fair-minded and well-reasoned," describing it as a "resounding affirmation" of her client's sovereignty and treaty rights.

Line 5, she said, "remains an urgent threat to the band and to the fragile network of wetlands and waterways surrounding the pipeline, including the Kakagon-Bad River Sloughs and Lake Superior, a source of drinking water to millions."

Not everyone who stands opposed to Line 5's continued operation, however, was completely satisfied with the decision.

"We can tell you right now that we will continue to work for a complete shutdown for as long as it takes," said Phyllis Hasbrouck, part of the team heading up the Line 5 effort for the environmental group 350 Wisconsin.

"Whether it happens through a lawsuit, denial of permits, or Enbridge realizing that the age of fossil fuels is over and switching their business to 100 per cent renewable energy, remains to be seen. But we and our many allies won’t stop until Line 5 is decommissioned."

In Canada, the group Environmental Defence also cheered the decision while arguing that the pipeline must nonetheless be shut down entirely.

"Not only should Enbridge swiftly comply with the judge’s orders to compensate the band for 10 years worth of illegal profits, they must also immediately start planning for a swift Line 5 shutdown," said water program manager Michelle Woodhouse.

The group issued a report earlier this year arguing that the company's existing pipeline network could be retooled to handle the capacity lost without Line 5, a conclusion Enbridge has strenuously rejected.

Simply rerouting Line 5 around Bad River territory will do nothing to mitigate the environmental and climate dangers the pipeline poses, Woodhouse added.

"It is also a new fossil fuel project that is directly at odds with what is needed for collective climate action."

Environmental concerns have long been top of mind in Wisconsin, where the pipeline runs directly through the Bad River Reservation, more than 500 square kilometres of pristine wetlands, streams and wilderness.

The band has been in court with Enbridge for more than three years, arguing that the company is trespassing, having violated the terms of the easements that allowed the pipeline to traverse the reservation beginning in 1953.

Enbridge had insisted that its 1992 agreement with the Bad River Band allows the pipeline to keep operating until 2043 — an argument Conley rejected outright.

"The agreed-upon purpose was not, as Enbridge now asserts, to permit it to operate across the entire reservation for 50 years," he wrote.

"Moreover, Enbridge knew of the risk that its 20-year easements … might not be renewed, and yet failed to protect itself from that risk."

In a statement, the company cheered the decision to keep Line 5 operational and said it remains committed to resolving the dispute "amicably" with the Bad River band.

The company's plans for a 66-kilometre detour of Line 5 around the reservation are already two years along, with 100 per cent of private landowners along the new route having already signed agreements.

"The relocation project will be built by a Wisconsin contractor and create approximately 700 family-supporting union jobs and millions in construction-related spending in northern Wisconsin," the company said.

"Roughly US$46 million will be spent with tribally owned businesses and on hiring and training Native American workers who will make up at least 10 per cent of the project workforce."

Line 5 has been under legal siege in both Wisconsin and neighbouring Michigan for the better part of the last three years, and with opponents in both cases arguing for a shutdown, the ruling Wednesday is likely to be seen as a win.

Business groups and chambers of commerce on both sides of the border, provincial governments and Ottawa have rallied behind Enbridge in its effort to portray Line 5's survival as a mission-critical matter of continental energy security.

Allies have argued in court filings as well as public forums that Line 5 is a vital source of energy for several Midwestern states, and an essential link for Canadian refineries that fuel some of Canada's busiest airports.

Late last month, the company won a key battle in the suit in Michigan, where a federal judge rejected Attorney General Dana Nessel's efforts to get the case removed back to circuit court, where the state stands a better chance of success.

Nessel has since indicated she plans to appeal that decision.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2022.

Companies in this story: (TSX:ENB)

James McCarten, The Canadian Press