Trudeau pledges more than $40M in funding for James Smith Cree Nation
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced more than $40 million in funding for James Smith Cree Nation during a visit to the community on Monday.
During his address, Trudeau pledged $40 million over six years towards a new wellness centre and to make improvements to an existing space.
He also promised $2.5 million over five years to increase access to traditional supports in the community.
Trudeau also accounced a $20 million top-up to the nationwide Pathways to Safe Indigenous Communities Initiative, a federal program focused on safety in indigenous communities.
The Prime Minister began his visit on Monday by stopping at the graves of victims of a deadly stabbing rampage at a Saskatchewan First Nation before he was to meet with family members in private.
The Sept. 4 stabbings left 11 people dead and 18 injured in James Smith Cree Nation, as well as in the nearby village of Weldon, Sask., northeast of Saskatoon. The suspect in the attacks, 32-year-old Myles Sanderson, died in police custody.
The prime minister was also scheduled to spend part of the day in meetings with leaders and community members. He was to make a public announcement in the afternoon.
Trudeau, accompanied by Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, went to Saint Stephen's Anglican Church, where seven of the victims are buried. They were joined by James Smith Cree Nation Chief Wally Burns, as well as Peter Chapman First Nation Chief Robert Head and Chakastaypasin First Nation Chief Calvin Sanderson.
The wind blew fresh snow around as Trudeau trudged through nearly knee-high drifts to get around the cemetery. He laid down tobacco and made the sign of the cross at each of the graves. Trudeau also took a moment of silence after the chiefs briefly spoke at the different locations.
Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, the first Indigenous person in Canada to hold the title, visited the cemetery at the same church in late September.
The stabbings amplified calls for more Indigenous-led policing, and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has promised to "work around the clock" to table legislation this fall that would declare Indigenous policing an essential service.
Burns has been among those calling for tribal policing and has also said the community needs funding for housing, especially for those reluctant to return to homes where family members were killed.
Saskatchewan's chief coroner has said two public inquests will be held into the stabbings -- one that will focus on the 11 killings, and another that will focus on the death of Sanderson in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 28, 2022.
--With CTV News Files
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.