Canada often likes to distinguish itself as being distinct from the United States. However, parallels are beginning to surface, particularly in Saskatchewan.

Since Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and Freddie Gray were shot at the hands of Caucasian police officers, racial tensions have been reaching a boiling point in the United States. In recent weeks and months, shootings in Louisiana, Minnesota and Texas have topped American headlines.

Undeniably, Saskatchewan has its fair share of incidents of blatant racism that are comparable to the aforementioned. Following the unprecedented shooting of a 22-year old Indigenous man, Colten Boushie in August 2016 near Biggar, Sask., racial tensions have become elevated in Saskatchewan and the rest of Canada.

A 22-year old Indigenous man is dead as the result of a simple flat tire.

After stopping at a farmyard to repair a flat tire, Boushie and four other individuals were quickly involved in an altercation with property owner, Gerald Stanley, who reportedly “came out of nowhere,” smashing the vehicle’s windshield and firing multiple gunshots, one of which struck and killed Boushie.

Canadians have distantly been observing an influx of racially motivated violence in the United States, which could easily make Canadians feel at ease with the current status of race relations at home.

These feelings of contentment suddenly ceased when the initial details of the farmyard incident were released to the public. The knee-jerk reaction of Stanley coupled with the details recounted by a passenger of the car can paint this conflict as a matter of race.

In addition to the act of racially motivated murder, what took place on social media following the incident added a troubling underlying theme. A shocking amount of online comments — particularly on Facebook pages and purported news sources — not only denied that race played a part in the incident, but also defended and praised the actions of the shooter.

Hateful remarks, ranging from derogatory terms to criticizing the shooter for not killing all the passengers, were posted in the public sphere and received a plethora of “likes” from those who crawled out from the woodwork to form a social media lynch mob.

As the University of Saskatchewan’s own Robert Innes — a professor in the department of Indigenous Studies — tweeted: “when people are celebrating the death of an Indigenous man and calling for the killing of more Indigenous men, we have to acknowledge that there is racism in this province.”

This statement of admittance sums up the testament that this murder was the result of one individual’s ideation. The amount of support Stanley received evidences that his actions are representative of the thoughts of many Saskatchewan residents.

The hate crimes committed in Maryland, Louisiana, Minnesota and nearly anywhere one can point to on a U.S. map have been observed and understood from a safe space north of the border. Following any police shooting, similar comments and formations of this mob mentality can be found on social media and even news sites.

Canada is not so different from its southern neighbours.

Canadians can no longer act removed from the larger picture. The pattern of killing visible minorities that is so prevalent in the U.S. mirrors itself north of the border. The horde of angry intolerance rears its ugly head in both countries as long as the proper catalyst allows it to come about.

On Aug. 9, 2016, the same superiority complex that was exhibited by European missionaries hundreds of years ago against Canada’s Indigenous population was displayed again with Boushie’s death. Now, as Stanley has been granted bail after pleading not guilty, one can only wonder if the accused will be served justice.

Based on the present evidence, it would be shocking if he were to be acquitted. However, Canada watched as George Zimmerman and Edward Nero were set free after the shootings of Trayvon Martin and Freddie Gray, respectively, so would a similar result really surprise anyone?

The evidence should lead to a conviction, but the skin colour of Stanley, who resides in a province with roots deeply ingrained in systemic racism and oppression of its Indigenous people, and the sheer number of citizens who stand in solidarity with Stanley, may cause a different result.

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Travis Hebert

Photo: Alistair / Flickr