Readers pick trial for Boushie's shooting death as 2017's "most talked about" story
- EFN Staff | January 30, 2017
Last week, readers had the chance to pick between five choices of what they think will be the most talked about story of 2017 in our web reader poll. Generating 60% of votes, our readers voted the pending trial over the Colten Boushie shooting.
Boushie, who was 22-years-old at the time, died from gunshot wounds on August 9th near Biggar, Saskatchewan. The accused, Gerald Stanley who is 55-years-old, will stand trial charged with second-degree murder starting on April 3rd which will run till the 7th.
Related: Racism exposed following Colten Boushie's death
The original set date for the preliminary hearing was set in January but Stanley faces new charges with two counts of unsafe storage of a firearm. Back in August, Stanley pled not guilty and was granted bail.
Following the shooting incident, racist remarks were uncovered on social media targeting Indigenous people in Saskatchewan. A week following the shooting, Premier Brad Wall wrote a Facebook post urging people to stop posting racial remarks against Indigenous people.
“Racism has no place in Saskatchewan. In the wake of a shooting near Biggar, there have been racist and hate-filled comments on social media and other forums. This must stop,” says Premier Wall on a social media post in August. “There are laws that protect citizens from what this kind of hate may foment. They will be enforced.”
The upcoming preliminary hearing will be one of many talked about stories that will have many in Saskatchewan waiting to hear the outcome.
Neal Wichihin from Saskatoon followed the story as it unfolded and says it was unfair when Stanley was granted bail.
“It’s white privilege, had that been the other way around, no bail would have been granted,” he says. “[The Colten Boushie shooting] exposes racism more than ever in Canada. I am looking forward to the verdict on this.”
Sidney John from Beardy’s First Nation is looking forward to the trial and how the justice system will handle the case.
“People want to know the outcome because one side wants justice and the other side is looking to see how far they can push the limits of the law,” he says. “In the end it begs the question, is Colten Boushie just another Indian?”
The other four choices in our web reader poll were the Métis Nation Saskatchewan (MN-S) election that generated a 20% vote, the pipeline protests in BC and Saskatchewan, which also had 20%, the preliminary findings of MMIW national inquiry and the summer of Indigenous sports.