Event looks at systemic injustices
It had been a long time since Saskatoon lawyer Donald Worme last saw the documentary film Two Worlds Colliding, about Saskatoon’s notorious starlight tours police scandal.
But when the film was screened once again Saturday afternoon at the Roxy, Worme said watching it brought back the same feelings — “the incandescent rage that just burned.” He teared up.
There were more than a few tears — and palpable feelings of anger and frustration among the roughly 200 people in attendance. They were taking part in a teachin, organized by the Indigenous activist group Idle No More, to raise money for the family of Colten Boushie and to talk about systemic injustice in Saskatchewan toward Indigenous people.
The recent acquittal of farmer Gerald Stanley in the shooting death of Boushie has set off a firestorm of protest and public debate across the country — along with racist comments on social media.
At the Roxy, the elimination of visibly Indigenous jurors in the Stanley trial was one of the focal points of discussion.
Worme, one of three panellists to speak following the film screening, said if there is not the appearance of justice, “then we don’t have justice.”
One audience member cited a list of systemic problems she saw in the way the case was investigated and tried in court. She asked Worme if a public inquiry would make a difference.
He said if an inquiry gives the public a clearer understanding of such things as peremptory challenges — one method lawyers can use to eliminate certain jurors — then it could be easier to push politicians to make change.
In a later interview, he said doing away with peremptory challenges at least deserves examination.
As for the usefulness of a public inquiry, Worme said much depends on what it’s set up to examine and the powers it is given.
“It would be crucial in this instance to have proper terms of reference that would permit the examination of those instances that have given rise to the perception of injustice,” he said.
Worme said he is not familiar enough with the details of the trial to suggest other areas that could be covered by an inquiry.
He said he came to the gathering “because like every other citizen, I felt that there was a certain conversation that nobody wants to have and yet everybody is having.”
Worme said in his own family, there was shock and disbelief at the Stanley verdict, which he shares.
“A freak accident is when I shoot my gun in the air and an hour later the bullet comes down and kills somebody,” he said. “That’s what a freak accident is — not when I’ve got my hand on my gun and I’m walking up to somebody and it discharges.”
Asked how a divided province can come together again, Worme said, “It can’t be one-sided, it cannot be just First Nations and Indigenous people making all of the compromises and simply shaking this off as another incident of injustice that we have to eat.”
He also emphasized acting with love.
In the panel discussion, much was said about the need for more education as well as institutional reform across all sectors and personal resilience.
John Hansen, a sociology professor at the U of S, explained how being grounded in his Indigenous identity has helped him cope with the pain of recent events and given him a buffer to racism.
Verna St. Denis, a professor at the College of Education, said there can be no moving forward without first acknowledging the harm that has been done, and which “continues to have life and death consequences.”
Recording star Buffy Sainte-Marie was among the donors who contributed to the fundraising effort.
The final amount was still being tallied, but organizers said it topped $3,000.