A judge has found that there is sufficient evidence to proceed with a second-degree murder trial for Colten Boushie’s alleged killer, Gerald Stanley.
The preliminary hearing held in North Battleford, Sask., started on Monday and concluded Thursday.
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In the midst of a peaceful gathering filling the lawn outside court, Boushie’s cousin, Jade Tootoosis, read a statement.
“We, Colten’s family, hope that this preliminary hearing and the issues that it raises about our relationships with each other will generate further discussion and dialogue to help us bring our communities together,” Tootoosis said.
A trial date has not been set, however Crown prosecutor William Burge said it would be late fall 2017 at the earliest.
Boushie, a 22-year-old man from Red Pheasant First Nation, was shot and killed on Stanley’s rural property in the RM of Glenside near Biggar, Sask., on Aug. 9, 2016. Stanley pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder the following week.
Outside court, Red Pheasant Chief Clint Wuttunee expressed a need to improve relationship between people in his community and the surrounding rural area.
“We just need to get together and begin the dialogue and start to understand each other a little better,” Wuttunee said.
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Wuttunee and Heather Bear, vice chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, welcomed the prospect of hate speech charges related to racially charged comments on social media related to Boushie’s death.
“There needs to be more action taken in terms of laying these charges,” Bear said.
The witnesses and exhibits presented during the preliminary hearing cannot be reported due to a publication ban, which is the norm.