COMMUNITY MUST UNITE

As this editorial goes to press, the province is awaiting the jury’s verdict in the Gerald Stanley second-degree murder trial for the shooting death of Colten Boushie. We are united in this vigil, anxious to hear what the outcome will be.

But we are divided as a province, as became clear in the months since this young Cree man was shot and killed on a summer day in 2016.

As issues such as racism, fear and violence confront us, one thinks of the civil rights movement for African Americans in the United States. Recalling the wisdom of that movement’s leaders might give us guidance at this difficult moment in our history.

“At the end of the day, we must go forward with hope and not backward by fear and division,” The Rev. Jesse Jackson said.

Right now, Saskatchewan needs to find a common point of hope we can all move toward. We clearly won’t find it in social media discourse based on blame and name-calling. It is a brutal war of words, devoid of compassion, where perceived enemies are eviscerated over any flaw.

“We must all learn a good lesson — how to live together. That is the new challenge of the new world ... learning to coexist and not co-annihilate,” Jackson also said. In this, Saskatchewan has work to do.

Jurors must sort out the legal details of what happened in that farmyard near Biggar and come up with a verdict on Stanley’s actions.

But it is not too soon to find our province guilty of failing to reach across divides created by experience and history with respect and compassion.

The angry, painful discourse going on since the Boushie shooting exposes the deep need for reconciliation between white and Indigenous communities.

We must ensure that if societal ills contributed to Boushie’s death, if fear, disenfranchisement and prejudice played a part, we face them honestly.

Future tragedies like this must be prevented. The new premier has an important job in all of this. Much is made of the economic challenges faced by Scott Moe and his new cabinet, but creating a dialogue on race, crime and the issues exposed by the trial should be a top priority. Indigenous groups, the RCMP, municipal governments and other invested organizations must get together and come up with ways to foster better relationships.

Again, Jackson has wisdom to offer in this regard: “Leadership has a harder job to do than just choose sides. It must bring sides together.”

The end of the Stanley trial must mark the beginning of building a united Saskatchewan.