'There is no place to call home': Man who lost wife, son in James Smith stabbing still living in hotel
CBC
Brian (Buggy) Burns says it's the small things he misses the most, like sitting down and having coffee with his wife nearly every morning for more than three decades.
Since his wife, Bonnie, and son Gregory were killed in a mass stabbing, coffee just hasn't tasted the same. Jokes haven't been as funny.
And, Burns says, there is no place to call home.
"I miss talking to her and joking around," Burns says while holding back tears. "I'd make sure I had her coffee for her before she went to work."
The man who wielded the knife on Sept. 4 was Myles Sanderson, who stabbed 10 people to death on James Smith Cree Nation that morning, including his own brother Damien. He also killed one man in the nearby village of Weldon, Sask., and injured several others during the merciless rampage.
Sanderson, 32, later died in police custody.
Houses became crime scenes on the First Nation of about 1,900 people 170 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. Even after police left, some families devastated by the massacre can't fathom returning to those homes.
"It still hurts," says James Smith Cree Nation Chief Wally Burns.
He expects there are four families, including that of Brian Burns, who are struggling to decide whether to go back to their houses. The First Nation is trying to find solutions, he says, including providing ready-to-move homes that can be placed at a site but don't have a basement.
But the chief says it relies on funding from Ottawa.
"It's a slow process with government."
Indigenous Services Canada will provide funding for four homes, said Matthew Gutsch, a spokesperson for the department. However, due to winter conditions they may not be ready for use until next spring, Gutsch added in an email.
In the meantime, he said the department will provide funding for families who cannot return to the community.
Indigenous Services Canada said a total of 17 homes were damaged during the rampage. Funding is also being provided to clean, restore and repair those that will not be replaced, Gutsch said.