Mickey Djuric, The Canadian Press

Saskatchewan kicked off its fall legislative session Wednesday with a tough-on-crime throne speech presented while a former cabinet minister turned notorious convicted killer sat in the chamber.

Colin Thatcher, 84, said he was happy to accept an invitation from his good friend, Saskatchewan Party legislature member Lyle Stewart.

Wearing a blazer and bolo tie, Thatcher sat next to a provincial police chief as Lt.-Gov. Russell Mirasty delivered the speech laying out the agenda for the session.

A symbol that has been associated with white nationalist movements was recently worn by a Saskatchewan Mountie while escorting an inmate who had just been sentenced for hate speech. 

The officer displayed a "thin blue line" patch on the left site of his hat Thursday, as he transferred Travis Patron back to jail from Court of King's Bench in Estevan. 

Some of the people who died in the stabbing massacre on James Smith Cree Nation last month were killed because they were trying to help others, RCMP say.

Residents put themselves at risk and in some cases paid with their lives for simply trying to protect others in their community, Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore told The Canadian Press in a recent interview.

A member of James Smith Cree Nation was wrongfully accused by RCMP of killing an individual during the stabbing attacks last month in the community and in the nearby village of Weldon, Sask. 

Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore said evidence shows Damien Sanderson did not kill anyone during the rampage and was killed by his own brother.

Blackmore said Myles Sanderson killed Damien Sanderson and 10 others on Sept. 4. Eighteen people were injured. 

"Myles Sanderson committed all of the homicides alone," Blackmore said Thursday. 

Joyce and Earl Burns were childhood sweethearts. 

They grew up together on James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, first as neighbours, then as husband and wife. 

"It was childhood love," said Victor Sanderson, a younger brother of Joyce Burns. He babysat their children and watched the couple grow old together.

He now visits his sister in a Saskatoon hospital room, where she recently regained consciousness after she was stabbed multiple times in the stomach and neck in a mass killing on the First Nation.

09:00 Sep 24th, 2022
Sask-Stabbings-Broncos
Tragedies unite Humboldt Broncos mom and James Smith Cree Nation artist
By: Mickey Djuric
Location: Regina
Source: The Canadian Press

Celeste Leray-Leicht received many condolence gifts after the Humboldt Broncos bus crash that claimed the life of her son, but it was a beaded green and yellow ribbon with a white heart that stood out.

Tire tracks worn into the gravel roads that lead into James Smith Cree Nation are deeper than they were two weeks ago, remnants of the heavy police presence and the numerous funeral processions that followed.

Locals have returned to these roads, once again waving as they pass each other to run errands or visit family.

But as the sun sets, which is happening earlier than it did in early September, the fear creeps back in.

Saskatchewan Mounties surrounded a house on the James Smith Cree Nation Tuesday after reported sightings of a suspected mass murderer, but left soon afterward with no sign of the man.

Emergency alerts blared yet again. A helicopter and drones flew overhead. A tactical armoured vehicle arrived on-site, driving past a checkpoint where reporters were kept. Shortly after, police vehicles left the scene and Myles Sanderson remained at large more than 48 hours after the stabbing attacks.

A stabbing rampage on a Saskatchewan First Nation and in a nearby village left 10 people dead and 15 others injured, provincial RCMP said Sunday as officers continued to search for two suspects in the case.

“We believe some of the victims have been targeted by the suspects and others have been attacked randomly,” Rhonda Blackmore, the assistant commissioner in charge of Saskatchewan RCMP, told reporters in Regina.

“It is horrific what has occurred in our province today.”  

Saskatchewan's finance minister says it was worth spending nearly $8,000 on a private plane to attend a chamber of commerce lunch days after she tabled a budget that contained tax hikes.

Donna Harpauer says the price tag for the March 25 flight from Regina to North Battleford, Sask., and back was high, but it's the cost of doing business.

"I think being in other communities to present the budget … is important and there is a cost to doing it," she said Tuesday.