A scheduled trial for an Onion Lake Cree Nation man facing weapons and drug-related charges isn’t proceeding due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The trial for Terrance Stonechild, 32, was scheduled to start at a special sitting in Lloydminster Provincial Court June 1. The case will be brought back before the court on June 2 to speak to the matter.
Stonechild – who was banished from Onion Lake Cree Nation - was arrested there on Dec. 8, 2020.
Onion Lake Cree Nation band council “banished” 32 people from its community in 2020 as they say they combat illegal drug and gang activity.
The banished individuals have “contravened and violated peace and good order in the territory of the Onion Lake Cree Nation, and thereby are banished,” Okimaw (Chief) Henry Lewis posted in a statement on OLCN’s website Sept. 3, 2020. Names and photos of the banned individuals were also posted on OLCN’s website.
The OLCN band council had asked people to call Onion Lake RCMP if they saw any of the banned individuals in the community.
OLCN declared a state of emergency in January 2020 after gang-related violence and drug activity threatened the safety of its residents. The Onion Lake leadership drove out suspected gang members and boarded up about 15 suspected meth houses.
OLCN has three townships spanning 188,000 acres and is on the Saskatchewan-Alberta border. It is about 50 kilometres north of Lloydminster.
