Wall calls for end to 'racist and hate-filled' online comments

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Family members of shooting victim Colten Boushie say they are grateful for Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall’s condemnation of the hateful social media comments that have followed their loved one’s death.

“Tell Premier Wall thanks for those kind words. I’m very happy with his comments,” said Boushie’s uncle, Alvin Baptiste.

The family was devastated by the onslaught of racist commentary online, and by some locals in the Battlefords area where the shooting occurred, he said.

In the last few days, however, the family has received an outpouring of support from people of all cultures, locally and from across Canada, Baptiste added.

The GoFundMe online fundraising page set up to collect donations for Boushie’s funeral and other family expenses has now exceeded $20,000.

Wall’s comments give Boushie’s family hope that other rural and municipal leaders will also lend their support. For now, however, none have contacted them, other than Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations vice chief Kim Jonathan and Red Pheasant Cree Nation Chief Clint Wuttunnee.

The mayor of nearby Perdue, location of a planned steak night fundraiser for 54-year-old Gerald Stanley, who is accused of second-degree murder in Boushie’s death, said he had no opinion on the matter when contacted. The area’s MLA, Randy Weekes, also declined to comment when contacted on Monday.

Baptiste said Wall appears to be sincere about building relationships among different groups in the province.

“That’s what a real leader does — it’s everybody’s province,” Baptiste said.

In a Facebook post on Sunday afternoon, Wall condemned what he called “racist and hate-filled” comments on social media and other online forums after last week’s fatal shooting.

A cousin of Boushie’s has said they were headed home to the Red Pheasant First Nation near North Battleford when they got a flat tire and needed help, but a man on the farm where they stopped instead smashed one of their car’s windows and fired shots as they tried to leave.

In his Facebook post, Wall said he has every confidence in the RCMP to investigate the circumstances of Boushie’s death.

“None of us should be jumping to any conclusions about what happened. We should trust the RCMP to do their work,” Wall wrote.

“I call on Saskatchewan people to rise above intolerance, to be our best and to be the kind of neighbours and fellow citizens we are reputed to be.”

Comments continued over the weekend on numerous online sites. Some were anti-aboriginal, while others supported vigilante justice against Stanley.

Aboriginal leaders said last week that the initial RCMP news release about the shooting was biased, and they called for an RCMP review of communication policies and writing guidelines.

The initial news release said people in the car had been taken into custody as part of a theft investigation. They were released without charges.

Supt. Rob Cameron in Regina responded that officers handled the investigation fairly and competently.

Wall said the hateful comments that have appeared online must stop.

“There are laws that protect citizens from what this kind of hate may foment. They will be enforced,” he said.

Stanley is to make his next court appearance in North Battleford on Thursday to face the allegations.

— with Canadian Press files