Saskatoon freezing deaths

During the winter months, average temperatures in Saskatoon can be as cold as −20.7°C.
A photo of a riverbank near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, taken during winter. During the winter months, average temperatures in Saskatoon can be as cold as −20.7 °C (−5.3 °F).[1]

The Saskatoon freezing deaths involved Indigenous Canadians in and immediately outside Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in the 1990s and early 2000s, and are suspected of being linked to actions by the members of the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS). Police officers would arrest Indigenous people, who were usually male, for alleged drunkenness and/or disorderly behaviour, sometimes without cause.[2] The officers would then drive them to the outskirts of the city at night during winter and abandon them, leaving them stranded in sub-zero temperatures.[3]

The practice is known as taking Indigenous people on "starlight tours"[4] and dates back to at least 1976.[5] As of 2021, despite convictions for related offenses, no police officer has been specifically convicted for having caused freezing deaths.[citation needed]

  1. ^ "Saskatoon Diefenbaker INT'L A". Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010. Environment Canada. October 31, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  2. ^ Campbell, Meagan. "New light on Saskatoon's 'starlight tours'". Macleans.ca. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  3. ^ Saskatchewan. Commission of Inquiry into Matters Relating to the Death of Neil Stonechild. (2009). Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Matters Relating to the Death of Neil Stonechild. Commission of Inquiry into Matters Relating to the Death of Neil Stonechild. OCLC 319678398. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  4. ^ "New film renews community discussion about Aboriginal freezing deaths in Saskatoon". Dispatch. University of Regina. Archived from the original on November 2, 2008. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  5. ^ "Saskatoon police chief admits starlight cruises are not new". Windspeaker. Aboriginal Multimedia Society of Alberta. July 1, 2003. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2010.