Trudeau tells Regina event more must be done to help Indigenous Canadians

REGINA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has told Liberal party supporters in Saskatchewan that more needs to be done to help Indigenous people.

Trudeau spoke to party enthusiasts in Regina at a fundraiser Thursday night.

His comments came only days after the Saskatchewan Crown decided not to appeal the verdict in the case of Colten Boushie, an Indigenous man who was fatally shot on a farm in 2016.

Last month, a jury found Gerald Stanley not guilty of second-degree murder in Boushie’s death.

The verdict and the decision not to appeal have been criticized by Boushie’s family and Indigenous leaders.

Trudeau did not specifically mention the case in his speech.

“We need to address the tremendous challenges facing Indigenous peoples in Canada. As a country, we must do better,” Trudeau said.

“The path to reconciliation is long but it is worth every effort. We will walk it together.”

Last month Trudeau met with members of Boushie’s family in Ottawa and mentioned them in a speech in which he said the federal government plans to overhaul the way it relates to Indigenous people.

“Through all their grief and anger and frustration, their focus was not on themselves and the tragedy they have endured, but on how we must work together to make the system and our institutions better,” Trudeau said at the time.

Trudeau has a busy schedule in Regina on Friday.

He is expected to put a woman in charge of the RCMP during a visit to the Mountie training academy in Regina.

Sources say the prime minister will name Brenda Lucki as the new commissioner.

Trudeau is also to deliver remarks at a library about last week’s federal budget and meet Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe.

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Ryan McKenna, The Canadian Press