In the wake of the death of Colten Boushie on Aug. 9 near Biggar, leaders across the province have denounced a rash of hateful and racist comments made on social media with respect to the incident.
Premier Brad Wall issued a statement on Facebook denouncing the comments and other organizations and leaders have done likewise since then.
One of them is the National Farmer's Union, who issued a statement last week with respect to the incident. It reads:
"On behalf of our members, the National Farmers Union wishes to express our profound sadness over the tragic shooting of Colten Boushie and extend our deepest condolences to his family and community. We join them in mourning the loss of their loved one.
“As farmers, we condemn the rampant racist remarks that have circulated since the death of Colten Boushie, including comments made on the Saskatchewan Farmers Facebook group.
“We also commit ourselves to building relationships of solidarity, mutual respect and friendship with our indigenous neighbours, and to honouring our obligations as Treaty people."
As well, Living Sky School Division has issued a statement. Director of Education Dave Hutchinson's states, "The Living Sky School Division acknowledges the potential impact of this critical event on its students, staff and school communities. Given this, we intend to be prepared to provide the necessary supports to our schools at the start of the school year. We would also like to reinforce the premier's message: racism has no place in Saskatchewan, and more specifically, in our school division. Like the province, the Living Sky School Division will respond appropriately to any actions or language we believe contradict our core values and board policies designed to ensure that everyone who is connected to our system is entitled to safe and respectful learning and working environments."
On a related note, a Gofundme page remains up to raise funds for Boushie’s family. As of Monday $27,942 has been raised in that campaign, with a goal of $30,000.
Another Gofundme page had been set up to raise funds for the legal defence of Gerald Stanley, who is charged with second-degree murder. That has since been taken down.
