Parole board took ‘reasonable’ steps for Myles Sanderson’s release

An investigation into the statutory release and subsequent supervision of Myles Sanderson has determined the Correctional Service of Canada and Parole Board of Canada couldn’t have foreseen the worst mass murder in Saskatchewan history.

Sanderson was unlawfully at large when he killed 11 people and injured 17 others on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby community of Weldon on Sept. 4, 2022.

A National Joint Board of Investigation (BOI) was convened later that September to examine the actions of both the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) and Parole Board of Canada (PBC) surrounding Sanderson’s release. The board of investigation’s report was released Tuesday.

CSC assistant commissioner France Gratton spoke to the results of the investigation during a conference call.

“The board of investigation concluded that there were no pre-indicators or precipitating events that were known to CSC and PBC staff or that staff could have acted upon to prevent this incident,” she said.

“It also found that the overall case preparation found leading up to the statutory release of the offender was both reasonable and appropriate, including consideration of the Indigenous social history of the offender in the decision making process.”

When asked about the cancellation and then reinstatement of Sanderson’s statutory release and whether there were going to be any reviews or changes to the way that’s done in the future, Monica Irfan of the PBC did not directly answer the question.

“The decision is based on the legislative criteria that’s provided in the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. So that’s the legislative criteria that’s being applied to those decisions,” she said.

Both the CSC and the PBC were also asked whether either took into consideration Sanderson’s previous violent history when reinstating his statutory release.

Gratton said when they do assessments, “all the information” is taken into consideration to determine risks and needs.

“Once under the community supervision, special attention was put on those specific factors and … we were keeping track of any changes in order to reassess the risk,” she said.

The report also noted that parole officers expressed concern that they gave information to police agencies, including Saskatoon police and the Melfort RCMP, about Sanderson when he was on the run, but never got any updates in return.

“Staff reported that they provided all information that was requested, but they did not receive any information in return from the police on any progress or efforts that may have been made to locate Sanderson,” the report said. “All communications were one-way.”

In September of 2018, Sanderson was sentenced to four years, four months and 19 days in a federal penitentiary for assault, assault with a weapon, robbery, mischief, assault on a peace officer and uttering threats. It was his first federal sentence.

During an inquest in January into the mass stabbing, CSC and PBC officials told the jury in Melfort about Sanderson’s time behind bars and about his statutory release.

By law, most offenders — except those serving life or indeterminate sentences — must be released by the CSC and supervised by a parole officer after serving two-thirds of their sentence. Statutory release is not parole and isn’t a decision of the PBC.

Sanderson was granted his statutory release in August of 2021. Three months later, in November, Sanderson breached his release conditions for the first time by moving in with his former partner and by failing to report the intimate relationship.

The inquest heard Sanderson’s statutory release was suspended and a warrant was issued for his arrest, and he turned himself in. But the parole board decided in February of 2022 to cancel the suspension of his release and let him go.

Sanderson breached his release conditions twice more, once in February of 2022 and another the following May. After that latter breach — when Sanderson went to his former partner’s apartment, banged on the door and forced his way in — his parole officers issued a warrant for his arrest.

At that point, Sanderson was unlawfully at large, but he wasn’t located until after the mass murders on Sept. 4 of that year.

He was captured Sept. 7 near Rosthern, and went into medical distress during his arrest. Despite receiving assistance from Mounties and medical personnel, Sanderson was pronounced dead at a Saskatoon hospital.

According to a pathologist at an inquest into Sanderson’s death, he died of a massive cocaine overdose.

The jury at the first inquest made 29 recommendations, including some to the CSC. On Tuesday, the BOI made four recommendations to the CSC and 10 to the parole board.

The jury’s recommendations for the CSC included reinforcing its health guidelines and processes to refer offenders to community health services for offender suicide risk assessments, reviewing its materials relating to domestic violence, and reviewing its procedures for locating offenders.

The recommendations for the PBC included increasing the quorum for post-suspension reviews from one person to two, reviewing scheduling guidelines to give board members more time to write quality decisions, and continuing to provide parole board members with training on domestic violence.

Both organizations said they accepted the recommendations and are working to address them.

“This tragedy has had a profound effect on many people and communities in Saskatchewan and across the country,” CSC commissioner Anne Kelly said in a release.

“Our correctional system is based on the rehabilitation of offenders while ensuring public safety by successfully and safely reintegrating them into our communities. I am confident that the findings of this BOI will further strengthen our policies, processes and enhance relationships with our partners for future cases.

“We are committed to taking every measure possible to further protect the communities we serve.”

JSCN Chief Wally Burns reacts to report

According to a release sent out on behalf of the James Smith Cree Nation, Chief Wally Burns was disappointed First Nations governments weren’t included in the CSC and PBC investigation.

“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,” Burns said in the statement.

Burns added that although the report was completed in 2023, the CSC and the PBC chose not to release it for use in the Saskatchewan inquests. Burns continues to call for a national inquiry.

The James Smith Cree Nation also is asking for reforms, including directly involving First Nations governments before the release of offenders from their community, and to partner with Canada to create on-reserve aftercare programs and short-term sober-living accommodations for those leaving jails and prisons.

— With files from The Canadian Press