Victims' families want addictions challenges addressed in James Smith Cree Nation inquest

Darryl Burns plans to attend the inquest everyday in the coming weeks. (Stacey Hein, CTV news)

Day two of the inquest into Canada’s deadliest mass stabbing revealed some of the toughest evidence family members have had to hear.

Darryl Burns sat through hours of testimony that described how his sister, Lydia, and 10 others were killed by Myles Sanderson.

Lydia Gloria Burns, a first responder on James Smith Cree Nation, was the tenth person to die in the stabbing rampage on Sept. 4, 2022.

She was called to Bonnie and Gregory Burns’ home to help the mother and son who had been stabbed earlier that morning. Sanderson came back to the crime scene and killed all three victims.

"It brought back a lot of emotions, a lot of grief, sadness and a lot of anger," Darryl Burns said.

But what struck him the most about the testimony was the issue his home community continues to face.

"Drug use is rampant, and since this incident, it is still there," he added. "It's getting worse."

RCMP Sgt. Robin Zentner completed his two-day testimony on Tuesday afternoon.

He told the inquest that Sanderson was on the First Nation to sell cocaine and he presented evidence that suggested the killer was high on a "bad batch of coke" in the days leading up to the attacks.

The officer testified that some of Sanderson’s victims were linked to his drug trafficking and that others had affiliations with a local gang.

"There’s nothing to say that any of the attacks were specifically gang directed or gang organized," Zentner said.

However, there were indicators that Sanderson "had it out" for anyone who was linked to the Terror Squad gang, according to the officer.

Burns, and his late sister, were both community addictions support workers on James Smith. He hopes some of the recommendations that come out the inquest address the addictions crisis.

"If we could turn that around and make sobriety and healthy living an acceptable part of society, then we'd be better off. Our children and our grandchildren are going to have a better chance. But we have to normalize sobriety. We have to normalize healthy living," said Burns.

Leaders on the James Smith Cree Nation have been calling for recommendations to improve the parole system and include First Nations peoples in judicial proceedings.

"Indigenous groups are really not treated as equal partners in the justice system as other governments when it comes to corrections and justice for their own members,” Keith Brown, co-counsel for James Smith Cree Nation. "Recommendations looking to start to change that is something that the nation is really interested in here."

Sanderson, 32, had a lengthy, violent criminal record that included 78 convictions in 15 years, according to Zentner, with a history of interpersonal violence involving family members.

Some of the stabbing victims were his relatives, Zentner testified.

At the time of the rampage, Sanderson was wanted on a Canada-wide arrest warrant for breaking his parole conditions.

The Parole Board of Canada and Corrections Service Canada conducted a joint investigation into Sanderson’s release, but have yet to reveal their findings. Both parties are expected to testify during the three-week inquest.

"We'd like to hear from the parole board as to why (Sanderson) was released so easily without being labeled as a dangerous offender, for one thing, and without having the community informed about his release," said Peter Chapman Chief Robert Head.

Inquest recommendations are not legally binding and some family members of the victims are concerned they will fall on deaf ears.

The RCMP has previously said it "takes any recommendations regarding our policing service made by the Saskatchewan Coroners Service and inquest juries very seriously."