P.A. veteran walk will include tribute to Earl Burns

By Susan McNeil

The third Walk for Veterans will happen in Prince Albert this Saturday, and organizers have made sure to include time to honour Earl Burns, a veteran from James Smith Cree Nation who was killed in the mass stabbing earlier this month.

Michelle McKeaveney, a part of the River Valley Resiliency Retreat, said 2022 will be the first in-person walk, as the last two years had virtual walks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is actually our first, in-person real Saskatchewan, Canadian Walk for Veterans event,” she said.

The Prince Albert walk will be the only one of its kind in Saskatchewan.

The national organizers choose a cause to support every year if it falls within their mandate of helping veterans, and this year they have focused on those who helped Canadian soldiers overseas.

“We have a number of Saskatchewan and Prince Albert veterans who served in Afghanistan,” McKeaveney said. “This is very special for a lot of us.”

People can register for the walk online, and River Valley gets a percentage of all the donations that are made, McKeaveney said, so donors know they are also helping a local initiative. Walkers should show up at 1 p.m. at Kinsmen Park at the Kinette Amphitheatre, where they will listen to some short speeches and then walk around the park.

River Valley and McKeaveney were called as family supports when the mass killing on James Smith happened at the start of the month, and helped the Burns family as best they could. Burns was a veteran who served as part of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

“Because he was a veteran, and veterans are in our mandate for River Valley Resiliency, that’s why we are here. It was a no-brainer to honour this brave soul,” she said.

Some of the Burns family will be at the walk, McKeaveney said.

The event in Prince Albert is one of 11 walks being held across Canada, with hundreds more Canadians supporting the walk virtually by walking in their communities and donating pledges online.