Nearly 100 people braved the cold in Prince Albert today to walk in support of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls.
The group walked from city hall to the John A. Macdonald Building to show their support for an inquiry into the issue.
Joining them on the walk was Purnell Ballantyne, the brother of Monica Burns. Burns is the Sturgeon Lake woman who was found murdered northwest of Prince Albert earlier this month.
Ballantyne had been on a healing journey in honour of his late sister where he walked from Sasakatoon to Prince Albert. Ballantyne began his journey on Tuesday morning and arrived in Prince Albert 20 minutes before joining the walk.
“As soon as I got closer to Prince Albert, I managed to get more energy, so I ran and I made it here,” said Ballantyne.
He said along his way many people stopped to give him coffee and encourage him on his journey.
“It was an honour to receive all these gifts and challenges,” said Ballantyne. “The family support from everybody gave me the courage to keep going.”
Today’s walk was organized by Chief Justin Burns and the James Smith Cree Nation. Chief Burns was Monica’s uncle.