Elders on Sask. First Nation sit ready with 'a loaded gun' after alleged meth-fuelled assault, chief says
Buffalo River Dene Nation Chief Norma Catarat was in Saskatoon pleading for help after an elder in that community was beaten by an intoxicated woman last Friday.
“Elders are sitting at night with a gun loaded so their wife can sleep,” Catarat said. “It is a crisis, it is an emergency – we need to do something now.”
The woman who committed the assault has gang affiliations and was recently released from Pinegrove Correctional Centre. She was in a crystal meth psychosis when she broke in to the elder’s home, grabbed the elder by her hair, dragged her into the hallway and beat her, says Catarat.
With few options left available to community members, Catarat is asking for supports like a mental health centre and a detox centre to tackle the growing drug crisis.
She said the council has looked at hiring private security to patrol the community for roughly $200,000 as an immediate way to make a difference.
Elder Lawrence Piche say too many young people in the area have lost their way. He says three different gangs in town have him constantly worried.
“Because I have grandchildren that's in that gang. And it hurts because I know where my grandson is going -- he's going to go to prison,” Piche said.
While a pricey security force can help now, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) Chief Bobby Cameron said his organization has developed and started the First Nations Police Association, which would be “guided and supported” by chiefs and First Nations councils across the country.
“To do the groundwork right at the First Nation level, to have eyes and ears right at the First Nation level,” he said.
Cameron said the First Nations police detachments would be federally funded like the RCMP.
Cameron said he’s met with RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki and assistant commissioner Rhonda Blackmore about the initiative.
“Prime Minister Trudeau and his federal government said ‘policing is an essential service,’” Cameron said.
“For us, policing is a treaty right when treaties were signed in the 1800s.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black man to win supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87
Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries 'Roots,' has died. He was 87.
Weather alerts issued for 7 provinces, 1 territory
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Luxury cruise line selling world cruise suite for US$1.7 million
Luxury operator Regent Seven Seas Cruises is raising their price tag to eye-watering levels, with a suite on an upcoming 140-day world voyage costing US$1.7 million.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace
A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.