Canada Protests Shooting of Indigenous Man by White Farmer

Protests are being staged across Canada in response to the acquittal of a White Saskatchewan farmer who fatally shot an Indigenous man.

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Gerald Stanley was charged in August 2016 with the second-degree murder of 22-year-old Colten Boushie, a member of the Red Pheasant First Nation. On Friday, the defendant was found not-guilty by an all-White jury.

Boushie's uncle, Alvin Baptiste, responded to the verdict by saying his young nephew had been denied justice.

"How First Nations are treated in the justice system is not right," he said. "A White jury came out with a verdict of not guilty for Gerald Stanley, who shot and killed my nephew.

"This is how they treat us First Nations people. It is not right. Something has to be done about this. The government, Justin Trudeau, we asked you to give us Indigenous people justice."

Stanley's lawyer argued the death was a "freak accident," claiming his client accidentally shot at Boushie's head while he was in an SUV with friends on Stanley's property.

The group had come to his farm to ask for help with a flat tire. Stanley assumed the group was stealing a vehicle and fired warning shots, after which the gun "just went off," fatally injuring Boushie.

Boushie's family has vowed to appeal the verdict. Isadore Day, Ontario regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations, told CBC that the organization would assist with the appeal by raising funds and calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene.

In Toronto, a rally staged on Saturday drew a crowd of more than  200 people. Other rallies are expected in Saskatoon, Regina, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Victoria, Ottawa, London, Kitchener, Thunder Bay and Halifax.