Photos of the victims of the stabbing massacre in the Kerry Vickar Centre with tobacco placed in front. (Susan McNeil/paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

Changes to parole, corrections

First Nations leaders want voice in recommended changes to parole and corrections after stabbing massacre

Mar 12, 2024 | 5:00 PM

Joining calls from the James Smith Cree Nation to have a voice in any changes made to paroling or the release of Indigenous inmates are the FSIN and the Assembly of First Nations.

The group issued a statement Tuesday afternoon in response an announcement by Corrections Canada and the Parole Board of Canada over what steps could be taken in the wake of the massacre at James Smith in 2022.

“We’re disappointed Canada chose to do an investigation and make recommendations focused on Indigenous inmates without us. That speaks volumes to us when one of our band members was the perpetrator, and it’s our people who died in the massacre,” said James Smith Cree Nation Chief Wally Burns.

“We don’t want any other community to experience the loss of life we did on September 4, 2022. We’ve been examining the failures of Correctional Services Canada and the Parole Board and see many opportunities to improve public safety.”

READ MORE: Parole Board took reasonable steps before releasing Sanderson

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One of the main questions reviewed is how Myles Sanderson travelled openly between Saskatoon and James Smith while selling cocaine just months after his release had been revoked for disobeying conditions has been the subject of much discussion.

RCMP had been to the community the day before looking for Damien Sanderson, Myles’ brother, when multiple community members knew both men had been going into some homes threatening the people who lived there and, in some cases, assaulting them.

Skye Sanderson, Damien’s wife, called RCMP to report her husband. He had outstanding warrants but lied to officers when asked for his name. They did not recognize him because the photo they had was around a decade old. He did not participate in the killings and was the first to be killed by Myles.

Myles Sanderson’s statutory release was cancelled twice, most recently on May 24, 2022, just four months before he stabbed 28 people, killing 11 of them.

During the inquests held into the stabbings and secondly into how Myles came to die in police custody, JSCN leadership said multiple times they would like to be informed if a band member was being paroled or released.

Corrections Canada and the Parole Board started a joint investigation following the tragedy and found communication lacking between some police agencies and a limited sharing of information.

They also found that Sanderson’s history of domestic violence increased his risk assessment but that was not well documented by Corrections staff at all levels.

Included in the findings are considerations taken of the fact that Sanderson was Indigenous. Indigenous elders were part of the programming that Sanderson took part of while in prison.

Testifying at one of the inquests, Elder Harvey Knight said Sanderson did not stand out as an offender, was well-behaved and a thoughtful speaker. He said Sanderson was receptive to teachings about how to heal his mind, body and heart.

For the FSIN and JSCN, the goal is to have Indigenous governments with greater involvement in the system that sees many of their members involved in.

“Statistics show that about 80 per cent of inmates in the Prairie region are Indigenous, so it’s insulting to us that input from our people wasn’t included. This is an opportunity for our governments to collaborate on solutions. We demand and expect Canada to live up to the promises they made to First Nations and include us,” said the Chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Bobby Cameron.

JSCN is questioning the decision by Parole/Corrections to give them a copy of the 160-page joint report the day before it was released elsewhere, even though it has been complete since 2023.

Both the Parole Board and Corrections were able to select observers to be part of the BOI, the acronym given to the inquiry and made decisions about changes without talking to JSCN leadership, the group said in their statement.

James Smith wants the federal government to implement the recommendations made by the coroner’s jury while working with the band leadership.

Examples of reforms they would like to see include directly involving First Nation’s governments before offenders are released into their communities and to have the Government of Canada work with bands to create on-reserve after care programs and short-term accommodations for people leaving the corrections system.

“We are disappointed as CSC and PBC have unilaterally developed their proposed responses to the report and simply presented it to us as a done deal,” said Peter Chapman chief, Robert Head. Peter Chapman is one of the three bands that make up the James Smith Nation.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com