Credit Moe for facing tough conversations in Stanley trial aftermath

Premier Scott Moe is right: The conversations we need and are about to have in the wake of Gerald Stanley’s not guilty verdict are not going to be easy for anyone.

One person who will have to answer some difficult questions may be Moe himself. His Saskatchewan Party government’s budgets, which have cut funding for valued First Nations programming like NORTEP, stand as a modern, underlying contributor to the problem.

Nor was former advanced education and education minister Bronwyn Eyre’s throne speech reply last fall very helpful as she boldly implied our elementary school treaty education curriculum debases the noble contributions of white pioneers like her own grandparents.

Whether it be from the mouths of cabinet or a wink and nod from open line radio, Moe, his Saskatchewan Party government and all of us need to be more cognizant of those things that have been underpinning the anti-First Nations sentiments we’ve ignored for far too long in this province.

However, credit Moe for courageously deciding that it should be the premier himself who leads the very difficult but necessary conversations Saskatchewan must have right now.

After a questionable initial Twitter response to the jury’s not guilty verdict, on Saturday Moe made a very human gesture of acknowledging the pain of Colten Boushie’s family.

One might think this shouldn’t be necessary in a place like Saskatchewan, where we love to brag about our neighbourliness and decency.

Go online in the wake of the Boushie verdict. It is very much necessary.

Moe then underscored that he had spoken to national Chief Perry Bellegarde and Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron and vowed to “open a dialogue with our First Nations partners to begin working together to address these concerns.”

One can’t stress how important it was for a Saskatchewan leader — especially one leading a conservative-minded government in today’s racially charged environment — to acknowledge that First Nations leadership’s concerns are real.

Even more significant on Monday was Moe spelling out that intolerant and hate-filled comments “have never been and are not acceptable,” and that racism “does exist not just within our borders.”

Again, this message won’t get through to everyone, but it’s better to come from a conservative leader than supposed “left-wing politicians” or the ” mainstream media” that many are electing to scapegoat in bizarre justification of their own racists rants.

Sadly, this is just the beginning.

Immediate judicial reforms — especially to the jury selection process — are needed to ensure confidence in court outcomes.

To that end, credit Justice Minister Don Morgan, who sat alongside Moe on Monday vowing that government has “taken nothing off the table” in the aftermath of Stanley’s acquittal by the jury.

This will be a very difficult conversation and will require a national dialogue to get issues like jury selection right. Given that this has been part of the truth and reconciliation process, we actually have a start.

What may be more difficult is the conversation on economic reforms that will offer First Nations people opportunities. Let us consider for a moment that the provincial government’s approach to cannabis licensing and distribution in Saskatchewan that could end up with the politically connected rather than First Nations in need of an economic base.

In the meantime, however, perhaps Moe and Morgan should deliver the message that Stanley’s acquittal does not mean it is OK to use any measure one pleases in defence of property. This is crucial right now, because of the realistic possibility that the wrong message could lead to more tragedy.

That said, it’s not as if farmers concerned about rural crime — be it property or personal safety — don’t have a point.

This is going to be a difficult conversation because it must be a two-way conversation. First Nations leaders need to step up as well.

Education on historic wrongs is needed, but so is taking ownership of crime spilling over into neighbouring communities. First Nations leaders have not consistently done this — largely because such matters don’t enhance their own leadership aspirations.

It is but one of the many difficult conversations we need to have. It won’t be easy. Mandryk is the political columnist for the Leader-Post. mmandryk@postmedia.com