Hon. Brent Cotter: Honourable senators, a great tragedy unfolded in Saskatchewan in the early morning hours of September 4 on the James Smith Cree Nation and shortly afterward in the small town of Weldon. It resonated across our province, the country and beyond.

I received a message of condolence and thought from friends I had not heard from in years who live in Uganda.

Eleven people, perhaps twelve, died at the hands of a deeply troubled person prone to great violence, and another eighteen were seriously injured.

I will not repeat the beautiful, caring and thoughtful remarks of Senators Gold and Batters about each of the victims who died. But I do want to extend my sympathies and those of my family to those who have lost loved ones, to those who are recovering from their injuries and their families, and to the communities so deeply affected by these horrific events.

Questions are being asked regarding how this could have been avoided, how well law enforcement responded to these unfolding events. In time, we will know more on these fronts, and this is good and legitimate. We can look forward to insights based on the investigations flowing from the tragedy, including coroner’s inquests which were announced today.

I have known members of the James Smith Cree Nation for a long time and have great regard for their leadership, their commitment to their community and to the interests of First Nations people across Saskatchewan. Some of the great First Nations leaders in our province come from James Smith Cree Nation. In Chief Mark Arcand and his colleagues, that commitment of support continues to this day. We should be proud of the courage and commitment they have provided to their community in the face of such a horrific tragedy.

We should also listen to their message about the needs of their community and many other First Nations communities in this country. In my own experience, and in my view, in the same way that some First Nations desperately need clean water, so many First Nations communities desperately need the authorities and the resources to build healthy communities themselves from the ground up. I hope we will listen to these voices.

Let me close with a reminder. First Nations and First Nations people are a direct responsibility of the Government of Canada. We need a whole-of-government comprehensive response so that First Nations can build their communities and care for their members in healthy ways going forward, ways that are available to so many of us in the rest of the country.

Thank you, hiy hiy.