Sask. RCMP defends relationship with Indigenous people following lawsuit

REGINA — The RCMP is defending its relationship with Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan after it was named in a lawsuit filed by the family of Colten Boushie.

Boushie was fatally shot in August 2016 by a Saskatchewan farmer who was later found not guilty of second-degree murder.

The lawsuit includes farmer Gerald Stanley for the shooting and the RCMP for the way it treated family members after Boushie died.

When the lawsuit was announced, Chris Murphy, one of the family’s lawyers, said the lawsuit will make the RCMP examine how it interacts with Indigenous people.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Curtis Zablocki says Murphy’s statement does not accurately reflect the positive relationship Mounties have with Indigenous people in the province.

He says the RCMP has long worked closely with Indigenous communities from local detachments to senior officers.

“Every day Saskatchewan RCMP officers and employees work collaboratively with our communities both Indigenous and non-Indigenous,” Zablocki said in a release Friday.

“The Saskatchewan RCMP is committed to continue supporting and further developing these positive relationships.”

None of the allegations in the Boushie family lawsuit have been proven in court.

The Canadian Press