Sask. leads nation in homicide rate amongst Indigenous population: Stats Canada report

A report by Statistics Canada showed that 77 per cent, or about three out of every four Saskatchewan homicide victims in 2021, were Indigenous.

Saskatchewan had the highest rate of homicides where the victim was Indigenous in 53 of the 70 murder cases. In contrast, on 18 per cent of residents in the province identify as First Nations, Metis or Inuit. Since 2014, almost 70 per cent of homicide victims identified as Indigenous.

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) vice-chief Heather Bear called the numbers disturbing, but not surprising.

“The scary thing is when you start to accept and normalize those numbers,” she said. “For Indigenous [people], we have never really been protected.”

While homicide rates among Indigenous victims were down overall, the rate of Indigenous victims was six times higher than that of non-Indigenous victims.

In addition, for the third straight year in Saskatchewan, the homicide rate increased to nearly six deaths per 100,000 people.

In the city of Regina, a homicide rate of 5.67 led the nation, while Thunder Bay (5.63) and Winnipeg (5.39) were also in the top three cities.

From January through October 2022, Regina Police Service have investigated seven homicides, down four from 2021 in that same time.

“This is a community issue,” said RPS deputy chief Dean Rae. “We engage with many members of our community to assist with this. So we look for our community partners to work together and solve some of these issues and hopefully create a better, safer community for everyone.”

Saskatoon Police reported a slight increase in cases up to seven, from six, in the same timeframe, while Prince Albert saw neither an increase nor decrease, reporting eight homicides through October in 2022.

Saskatchewan RCMP also noticed a steady increase in the number of their murder investigations over the last three years.

This year is already higher than 2021 in part due to 11 stabbing deaths over September long weekend.

“In terms of trends we are seeing, I can say we’ve seen an increase in gang-related or-involved homicides,” said superintendent Josh Graham, officer in charge of the Sask. RCMP major crimes unit. “[They] are often complex in nature, have multiple suspects and are difficult to investigate.”

Bear believes trends could continue without proper funding to Indigenous community programs, mental health and addictions services.

“We are in a critical crisis situation,” she said. “Maybe people and government will take us seriously when we make these calls.”