Inquiry's end not conclusive

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Windspeaker Staff, Prince Albert Saskatchewan

After 13 months of hearings, the commission of inquiry into the shooting of Cree trapper Leo LaChance by white supremacist Carney Nerland has left many questions unans

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After 13 months of hearings, the commission of inquiry into the shooting of Cree trapper Leo LaChance by white supremacist Carney Nerland has left many questions unanswered and many more community members frustrated.

The LaChance family, the Prince Albert Tribal Council and the Prince Albert City Police all said they were not satisfied with the inquiry's outcome.

David LaChance said he was frustrated that the inquiry has not shed any light on the shooting of his brother and the subsequent prosecution of Nerland.

"I have the same questions now I had two years ago."

Tribal Council and LaChance family lawyer Gerry Morin said he remains convinced that unintentional or even systematic racism exists within the city police force.

"If we don't deal with racism to its full extent, it will cloud some people's minds who live in P.A.," he said.

Tribal Council Chief A. J. Felix said the inquiry failed to follow traditional Indian law. When a matter is to be discussed, everything must come out, he said. This did not happen in the inquiry.

"We asked for a full-blown inquiry. We didn't get it. The system protected itself."

The tribal council will appeal to Ted Hughes, chairman of the commission, to back their justice department appeal to expand the commission's mandate and complete the investigation of racist allegations against the Prince Albert police.

In a press conference held May 10, tribal council Felix said there are four areas that must be examined in more detail:

- Institutional racism within the criminal justice system in Prince Albert,

- Racist activity in Prince Albert and Saskatchewan

- The role of the RCMP in the investigation and prosecution of Nerland.

The commission was established by the Saskatchewan government to examine the actions of police, prosecutors and the courts in the LaChance case, to investigate what happened in Nerland's Prince Albert gun shop the night LaChance was shot and the likelihood of racist activity on the police forces.

The three-member commission heard 41 witnesses and has more than 3,000 pages of testimony to read. A final report from commissioners Hughes, Delia Opekokew and Peter McKinnon is expected in the fall.

The biggest issue that the commission will wrestle with will be the idea of institutionalized racism in the justice system, commission lawyer Morris Bodnar said. The Prince Albert City Police also said they want the issue investigated further.

Nerland, who is serving a four-year sentence in Stony Mountain federal penitentiary for manslaughter, testified before the inquiry in a closed hearing in April that six city police officers made racist remarks to him, charges that the officers have since denied.

Police Chief Greg McCullagh accused Nerland of making the allegations to draw the focus of the inquiry away from himself. One of the Officers Nerland named is Metis.

The council also firmly rejected the conclusion that the shooting of LaChance was accidental. The charging, sentencing and disposition were all based on testimony from two witnesses who contradicted one another and were unable to remember many facts.

Nerland testified he did not remember LaChance being in the store at all but was sure the shooting was accidental.

(With files by Connie Sampson)