Increased RCMP resources, community collaboration among James Smith Cree Nation inquest jury's recommendations

After more than two weeks of testimony, the jury at the coroner's inquest into the stabbing massacre at James Smith Cree Nation shared its recommendations to help prevent similar tragedies in the future.

The inquest, which began on Jan. 15 in Melfort, Sask., has been examining the events of Sept. 4, 2022, when Myles Sanderson killed 11 people — 10 from James Smith and one from the neighbouring village of Weldon.

During the past two weeks, jurors have heard from 30 witnesses including RCMP officers, a psychologist, forensic pathologists, Sanderson's former partner, officials from the Parole Board of Canada and the elders who worked with Sanderson in prison.

Six jurors were charged by Coroner Blaine Beaven Tuesday morning to come up with recommendations to try to help prevent similar deaths. The jury can make as many recommendations as they wish, or no recommendations at all.

The jury met with the family members Wednesday to share the recommendations before announcing them publicly.

The jurors were also asked to prepare a report for each of the dead, identifying the location, time and cause of death. The jury confirmed Wednesday evening that each of the victims died at James Smith Cree Nation, aside from Wesley Petterson, who died in Weldon, Sask.

The jury shared details of the wounds and determined the cause of each death was homicide.

The jury then gave the following 14 recommendations:

Coroner Beaven then made 15 recommendations:

Over the course of the inquest, many family members of the victims and survivors have shared their hopes that the recommendations could spark systemic changes.

Chelsey Stonestand, who had standing to ask questions on behalf of the family of victims Bonnie and Gregory Burns during the inquest, said Wednesday that the recommendations brought some relief.

"I felt blown away by all the considerations that were put into it. It's not perfect recommendations, but it's practical," she told reporters.

Darryl Burns, whose sister Gloria Burns was killed, said he was disappointed that none of the recommendations touch on the impacts of residential schools and intergenerational trauma.

"If you look at our history and everything that happened to our native people, it all stems from the residential schools," he said.