Boushie family to propose resolution at AFN General Assembly
Colten Boushie’s family is heading to the Assembly of First Nations’ (AFN) Special Chiefs Assembly in Quebec Wednesday.
According to Battleford-area lawyer Eleanore Sunchild, the family is seeking a resolution from the AFN urging the federal government to invite the United Nations to Canada in order to “investigate racism and systemic bias” in Canada’s justice system.
Boushie, a 22-year-old resident of Red Pheasant First Nation, was fatally shot in a Biggar-area farmyard in August of 2016. Farmer Gerald Stanley, who told the jury his pistol misfired during the incident, was acquitted of a charge of second-degree murder in February.
Sunchild, who is supporting Boushie’s family in seeking the resolution, said the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples investigates and reports on human rights issues and alleged violations. In a statement, Sunchild said the Boushie family hopes the federal government will “utilize every resource possible to ensure Canada is meeting international standards defined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”