PanamaTimes

Wednesday, Jun 17, 2026

Trudeau pledges support for First Nation rocked by stabbings

Trudeau pledges support for First Nation rocked by stabbings

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has paid a visit to the indigenous community where 11 people were killed in a stabbing spree earlier this year.

Mr Trudeau visited James Smith Cree Nation in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan three months after the September attacks.

He paid his respects at the burial site of victims and met local leaders.

Mr Trudeau also announced C$62.5m (£38.7m) in funding for the First Nations community.

A bulk of the money will help build a new wellness centre in James Smith Cree Nation and repurpose an existing treatment lodge for substance use to support the mental health of survivors and residents, Mr Trudeau's office said in a press release.

"Today, I heard first-hand the pain, sorrow, anger and grief that people here in the community of James Smith Cree Nation are feeling," Mr Trudeau said after his visit.

The stabbing spree, which unfolded on 4 September over Canada's Labour Day weekend, shocked the small indigenous community of nearly 3,500 members.


Mr Trudeau pays his respects to the victims

It also sparked a massive manhunt for brothers Myles and Damien Sanderson, who were then believed to be jointly responsible for the attacks.

Police later said they suspected Myles Sanderson was acting alone and had killed 11 people, including his brother Damien and nine others from James Smith Cree Nation. Another person was killed in Weldon, a quiet farming town, of about 200 people, nearby.

Myles Sanderson died shortly after being arrested on 7 September. The cause of death has yet to be determined.

In October, Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said that "we will never really know why" the incident took place.

The stabbings have sparked calls from local leaders for the creation of their own First Nations police force, which they said would be better positioned to protect the community in collaboration with the RCMP.

Chief Wally Burns of James Smith Cree Nation said Mr Trudeau's visit gave his community confidence that it can move forward on its goals, including self-administered policing.


In September, Canadian police told the suspects to turn themselves in


Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
United States Imposes Fifty Percent Tariffs on Mexican Steel and Aluminum Ahead of Trade Pact Review
European Union and China Head Toward Major Trade Conflict Over Clean Technology Exports
United States Economic Growth Severely Downgraded to One Point Six Percent as Stagflation Fears Mount
World Health Organization Warns Central African Ebola Epidemic is Outpacing Containment Efforts
United States Treasury Department Conditions Sanctions Relief on Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian Air Defenses Intercept and Destroy United States Military Drone Over Bushehr Province
Iranian Armed Forces Launch Ballistic Missiles Toward Unspecified Targets Prompting Regional Condemnation
United Nations Secretary-General Warns Global Order Facing Highest Level of Conflict Since 1945
Israel Issues Sweeping Evacuation Orders in Southern Lebanon Amid Intensified Hezbollah Conflict
Russia Announces Systemic Military Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Defense and Energy Infrastructure
United States and Iranian Negotiators Reach Draft Agreement to Extend Ceasefire and Resume Nuclear Talks
United Nations Security Council Deeply Divided Over United States Capture of Venezuelan President
US and Iran Exchange Direct Military Strikes Amid Fragile Gulf Ceasefire
World Health Organization Warns of Catastrophic Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo
Russia Threatens New Wave of Strikes on Ukrainian Infrastructure and Embassies
Scientists Warn Atlantic Ocean Currents Could Collapse Faster Than Projected
Anthropic Reaches $900 Billion Valuation in Historic AI Funding Round
Washington Imposes Crippling Sanctions on Iranian Maritime Authority
Japan and the Philippines Initiate Strategic Intelligence-Sharing Pact
Microsoft Deploys Autonomous Computer-Using AI Agents to Global Markets
Anthropic Secures $45 Billion Compute Infrastructure Agreement With SpaceX
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Resigns Amid Administration Shakeup
Micron Technology Crosses Trillion-Dollar Valuation Amid Unprecedented Hardware Demand
Canada and Germany Finalize Historic Long-Term LNG Export Agreement
China Expands International Travel Restrictions on Domestic AI Researchers
Japan Approves Sweeping Overhaul of National Intelligence Apparatus
Global Airlines Scramble Logistics as Middle East Airspace Remains Fractured
Japan's Naphtha Imports Plunge 47 Percent Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
Global Crude Prices Retreat Below $96 as Gulf Tensions Momentarily Ease
Generative AI Outperforms Human Baselines in Landmark Global Creativity Study
NASA Partners With Private Aerospace to Unveil Permanent Lunar Base Architecture
South Korean Equity Markets Surge on Next-Generation Memory Chip Frenzy
×