Justin Trudeau ‘Deeply Moved’ By Courage In La Loche After Shootings

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pauses for a moment as he lays a wreath outside the La Loche Community school in La Loche, Sask., Friday, Jan. 29, 2016. (CP/Jonathan Hayward)

The Canadian Press

LA LOCHE, Sask. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is deeply moved by the courage shown in a northern Saskatchewan community that lost four people in a mass shooting.

Trudeau is visiting the isolated Dene community of La Loche, which was rocked to its core last Friday when two brothers were killed in a home before a teacher and an aide were shot at the high school.

A 17-year-old boy, who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.

Friends have said he was an outcast at home and a victim of bullying at school.

Trudeau is to be joined by his public safety, justice and health ministers, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and Assembly of First Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde.

The prime minister says in a statement that he wants to personally express to the people of La Loche the country’s shock and sadness.

“It is both heartbreaking and devastating when lives so full of promise are taken from us too soon. On Jan. 22, four Canadians were senselessly killed. Seven more were injured, and the lives of countless others were altered by these terrible events,” he says.

“I have … been deeply moved by the courage of the families and friends of the victims, the mental-health workers, the school’s personnel and students, the mayor and indigenous leaders.”

Teachers from the school have posted a letter on Facebook that assures students they won’t be deserted after last week’s events.

“Some people have expressed concern that some of us have left and the fact is, we are hurt and we are healing but we are still here,” the letter says.

“Some people need to leave to get help. We don’t judge or condemn anyone who needs to be somewhere else to pick up the pieces, but we are choosing to move forward together, as a family and a community,” it continues.

“We are supporting each other so we can help support you. We will be back. We will rebuild. We will get better together.”

“So if you find yourself wondering where your teachers and school staff are, the answer is: we are in La Loche. Because truly, where else would we be?”

[Source]

Canada Gov’t: Worried About Aboriginal Communities In Wake Of Shooting

A family in La Loche, Saskatchewan, pay their respects on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, to the victims of a Friday school shooting.

Reuters | Jan 24, 2016

In the wake of a school shooting in a remote aboriginal town, the federal government admits that improving conditions in impoverished First Nations communities is “a huge challenge.”

OTTAWA — Canada’s government, grappling with a fatal attack in a remote aboriginal town, is very concerned about the “tragic and alarming” conditions in other indigenous communities, a top official said on Sunday.

A 17-year-old boy was due to appear in court on Monday, charged with four counts of murder after Friday’s deadly incident in La Loche, an impoverished town in the western province of Saskatchewan.

Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took power last year promising to tackle high levels of poverty, crime, bad housing and poor health among aboriginals, who make up 4 percent of the country’s population of 36 million.

House leader Dominic LeBlanc, a key Trudeau ally from the Atlantic province of New Brunswick, told reporters Ottawa would work with aboriginal leaders “to deal with some of the tragic and alarming social indicators in many of these communities.”

He added: “I have some of these communities … in New Brunswick. I worry about them a great deal, and our whole government does.”

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale arrived in La Loche on Sunday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Mr. Trudeau last month promised a new “nation-to-nation relationship with First Nations peoples” – a term that aboriginals use to refer to themselves – and said he would increase funding for indigenous communities.

Trudeau’s chief spokeswoman said he had no plans to address the media on Sunday.

Mr. LeBlanc said improving the lot of the First Nations was “a huge challenge.”

Robert Nault, who served as aboriginal affairs minister under the Liberals from 1999 to 2003, said real change would take a long time.

“So we’re going to have to be patient and start … working on the lack of infrastructure, the lack of housing, to change our relationship as it relates to education and healthcare,” he said in an interview. “It is a slow process.”

By REUTERS 

 

Teen Charged With 4 Counts Of 1st Degree Murder After La Loche Mass Shooting

By Red Power Media, Staff

17-year-old male student, charged with 4 counts of 1st-degree murder 

Police on Saturday charged a 17-year-old male with four counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder in a mass shooting at a school and home in a remote aboriginal community in northern Saskatchewan.

The alleged suspect can’t be named under Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act.

La Loche RCMP said nine people were shot in the school, including  21-year-old, Marie Janvier, a teacher’s aide who died at the scene and a male teacher identified as 35-year-old Adam Wood, who died in a hospital. The seven people wounded in Friday’s shooting at the school are hospitalized.

Marie Janvier and Adam Wood are two victims of the Jan. 22 shooting in La Loche, Sask., that left four people dead. (Facebook/handout )

Police said two brothers, 17-year-old Dayne Fountaine and 13-year-old Drayden, were shot dead in a home before the gunman headed to the grade 7-12 La Loche Community School. Police responded to a call of shots fired at the school shortly after the lunch hour.

• 4 Dead, Gunman In Custody After Shootings At La Loche Saskatchewan

RCMP Commanding Officer Brenda Butterworth-Carr said when officers arrived at the school they saw the front door had been shot open. They entered the school, spotted the suspect and gave chase before apprehending him. He is due in court next week.

Police said they were not aware of a motive and declined to say what type of gun was used.

“This is a significant event for Canada,” RCMP Supt. Grant St. Germaine said. “It’s a huge impact on the community of La Loche. It’s a part of changing times. We are seeing more violence.”

Candle vigil was beautiful and to the la Loche community family that join us to pray and show support for our loves one. ‪#‎Prayersforlaloche‬ (Photo: Janvier Nathan/Facebook)

Community comes together for vigils

More than 100 community members came together late Friday to hold vigils outside the school and at a local church. The families of the two young teachers paid emotional tribute to their loved ones. By Saturday morning, many of the larger candles that had been lit were still flickering.

The school is in the remote Dene aboriginal community of La Loche, with a population of about 3,000.