Burns sisters hope JSCN inquest helps build healthier community

Deborah and Vanessa Burns say the inquiry into the 2022 mass killing on the James Smith Cree Nation is bringing them some personal closure, but they hope the process helps their community build a healthier future as well.

The coroner’s inquest is deeply personal for both sisters, as their father, Earl Burns, was one of the 11 people killed in the attacks and their mother was among the 17 injured.

Vanessa was also the common-law spouse of Myles Sanderson, the perpetrator of the attacks. On Thursday, Vanessa spoke as a witness at the inquest, detailing abuse she suffered at Sanderson’s hands.

Speaking to reporters outside the inquest, both sisters said it’s a difficult and tiring process, but the testimony is providing some of the answers they’ve been waiting for.

“It’s really exhausting at the end of the day, just absorbing all the information that is coming from the witnesses themselves, but all in all I feel like I am getting some answers to my questions,” Deborah said.

“I was really nervous and anxious, and I’m relieved after I did my testimony,” Vanessa added. “I too am getting some answers.”

The death of their father was an especially painful point during the inquest. After he was mortally wounded by Sanderson, Earl Burns Sr. chased the attacker from the scene in a school bus where he succumbed to his injuries and died. First responders passed the bus four times as it sat running in the ditch.

Retired RCMP staff sergeant Darren Simons was among those who passed the bus without checking on it, and he apologized to the Burns sisters during his own testimony last week.

“I apologize that your father did not get my attention earlier,” the Mountie said.

“The second day was the hardest – was the heaviest – seeing the bus scene,” Deborah said.

“At the beginning of it I was somewhat angry, right? Wondering why help didn’t get to him sooner. But talking to the actual police officer that attended the scene and seeing his facial expression and hearing his voice and seeing that he’s compassionate and he’s a human being as well and he’s affected by this as well. He wished that he would have got there sooner too.”

Deborah said she doesn’t fault those who were responding to the emergency calls on the Cree nation for not finding her father sooner.

“They couldn’t have acted any quicker on their part,” she said. “It was chaotic. It was crazy. Nobody expected something like that, so how do you expect them to be, like, on their toes and well prepared, right?”

Watching Vanessa speaking about her relationship with Sanderson while on the stand was also a difficult moment, Deborah added.

“That was another heavy, heavy testimony to hear as well,” she said.

“But going home I have a four-month-old baby who brings a lot of love and joy, and so that helps.”

Vanessa said she hopes the inquest jury makes recommendations that will provide better support to victims of domestic violence like her, and improve the treatment options for people incarcerated for domestic violence as well.

“We have to fend for ourselves,” she said. “We have nowhere to go. We have no money, no job. We have kids, so it’s really challenging. We don’t want to burden people.”

She said her message to victims was simple: Never be afraid to stand up for yourself.

“Be strong and know that you deserve better than being abused,” she said.

She also called on leaders in the James Smith Cree Nation to pay closer attention to the people they’re leading, including those who are incarcerated.

“Touch base with everybody and be transparent,” she said.

Deborah also called attention to the community’s issues with drugs.

“It’s the cause to violence in communities,” she said.

“Since Sept. 4, (2022,) the drug activity and the violence in our community has increased, and it’s very concerning.”

Vanessa also called for more to be done to address the problems with drugs, saying the cycles of harm caused by drug abuse need to be broken in order to build a healthier community.

–with files from 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick

Editor’s note: The story has been updated to correct the amount of time it took for responders to check the school bus