James Smith Cree Nation chief weighs in on investigation findings

James Smith Cree Nation (JSCN) leadership is calling on Correctional Services of Canada (CSC) and the Parole Board of Canada to include First Nation governments in policy and legislation reform.

On Tuesday, the federal agencies released the findings from a joint investigation into the release and supervision of Myles Sanderson.

The 32-year-old Sanderson went on a stabbing rampage seven months after he was released from prison. He killed 11 people and injured 17 others in the communities of James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Sask. in September 2022.

The investigation began shortly after the deadly attacks.

CSC Commissioner Anne Kelly and parole board chairperson Jennifer Oades met with JSCN leadership a day before the final report was released.

“The conversations were nice, but really, it's lip service for the First Nation because we were after some concrete reform in areas of justice,” said Chief Robert Head of the Peter Chapman band in JSCN.

The investigation issued 14 recommendations to CSC and the parole board. Chief Head said his community wished it was involved in that process because it has its own recommendations.

“First Nations people are over represented in all the institutions of Canada, and we need to address that head on,” he said.

“If they're not going to invite us to the table to provide our input, how are they going to come up with policies that reduce the high incarceration rate.”

Head is calling for more First Nation participation in parole board decisions.

“If we had regional participation on the parole boards, they could address concerns of the First Nations,” he said.

The parole board notes Sanderson was not on parole, but on statutory release, which all Canadian offenders are legally entitled to after serving two-thirds of their sentence.

“I think that would be one of the recommendations… is to have the ability to make presentations at the parole board and to make consensus on whether a person should be able to exercise that statutory release,” Head said.

Both CSC and the parole board said work is underway to address the recommendations.

“This isn’t the end of the story,” said Keith Brown, a lawyer representing JSCN.

Brown said leadership is “very interested” in working with the parole board “to greater incorporate the views of First Nation governments” into the parole board’s decision making process.