Elders who worked with Sanderson in prison testify at James Smith Cree Nation stabbing inquest
Jurors hear new information about how Sanderson was able to evade police
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
The final two witnesses at the coroner's inquest into the stabbing massacre at James Smith Cree Nation on Sept. 4, 2022, gave testimony about the programming that killer Myles Sanderson received while in prison.
Elder Geraldine Arcand, who has worked with Correctional Services Canada for the past decade, was involved with Sanderson in the initial intake process when he began serving a federal prison sentence in 2019.
"The first day I met him, he was quiet, but he spoke. He was respectful and talked about his childhood and all that has transpired from there till his children," she said.
In less than two weeks, she developed a healing plan, based on a format of the medicine wheel, for him.
Arcand said if Sanderson would have taken the opportunity to complete his Grade 12 and gotten some institutional employment, it would have "given him some purpose" and skills.
"To start addressing the issues he had — it was his upbringing. It was the anger that he feels … and encouraging him to address it in a healthy way," she said.
"He needed supports because he was really, to me anyway at that time, remorseful with what he did. He talked about his children and how he wanted to be there for them."
Sanderson receptive to teachings: elder
The final witness of the inquest, Elder Harvey Knight, worked with Sanderson in prison. He said he saw Sanderson once or twice a week and got to know him in his healing journey.
The high-intensity, multi-targeted program focused on imparting Indigenous teachings and providing guidance and assistance on offenders' roads to healing, Knight said.
He said Sanderson was receptive to those teachings.
"He attended all the groups. To me, he was in a normal, sober state of mind. His behaviour was very good, like everyone else in the group. He didn't stand out as someone different," Knight said.
Knight said he had "no indication" of what Sanderson was capable of and "just couldn't comprehend" what happened on Sept. 4, 2022.
When asked if something could be done to prevent a similar tragedy, Knight said there needs to be more support for people to lead a life of sobriety when they return to their communities.
"You've got to stop the addictions.… It's the substance abuse that is the main factor that frees people's inhibitions to commit crime," he said.
Parole board decisions shared
Earlier Monday, Monica Irfan, deputy director of policy at the Parole Board of Canada, testified she was not directly involved with Sanderson's parole decision.
Sanderson was serving his first federal prison sentence of more than four years. His parole documents, previously disclosed, show he had a lengthy criminal history, including 59 convictions as an adult.
On Feb. 15, 2021, the parole board denied Sanderson both day parole and full parole, and imposed a list of conditions that would apply at the time of his statutory release in August 2021. Federal prisoners are entitled by law to statutory release, where they are supervised in the community, when they have served two-thirds of their sentence.
Sanderson's release conditions included that he abstain from alcohol and drugs and not have any intimate relationships without prior permission from his supervisor, Irfan said.
"Substance abuse has been a contributing factor in your offending and violence, and therefore staying substance free will manage your risk," Irfan read from the parole board's decision.
In November 2021, Sanderson's ex-partner, Vanessa Burns, informed the parole officer that Sanderson had been living with her since Oct. 1. Sanderson turned himself in within a couple of hours and his statutory release was suspended.
At a post-suspension review hearing in February 2022, Irfan said the parole board cancelled the suspension, issued a reprimand and imposed another condition on Sanderson to have no contact with his children or with Burns, except for what is necessary for parental responsibilities or for programming with prior permission from the parole officer.
At the time of the stabbings, Sanderson was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for breaching conditions of his release. He was declared to be unlawfully at large in May 2022.
Irfan didn't have any suggestions for recommendations for the jury.
When the suspension of Sanderson's statutory release was cancelled, Irfan said the parole board was not required to inform the leadership of the community. Irfan was questioned by Keith Brown, a lawyer for the James Smith Cree Nation, whether notifying the community could help in preventing similar mass casualties.
Irfan said she is not sure.
Chelsey Stonestand, a representative of Burns' family, questioned Irfan on the diversity of parole board members.
Nine of 72 parole board members are Indigenous, Irfan replied.
"There are always efforts being made to increase the diversity among board members," she said.
Jury to begin deliberating
The purpose of the inquest, which began Jan. 15 in Melfort — a small city about 30 kilometres southeast of James Smith Cree Nation — is to set the public record straight about what happened during the stabbings and to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
The jury is expected to begin deliberating Tuesday on what recommendations it will make.
Kim Beaudin, national vice-chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, said the jury's recommendations will be a key part of the process.
"The jury has a very large task in front of them," he told reporters Monday.
Beaudin said he hopes the recommendations will lead to changes in legislation, to spark change.
"To create accountability and also to have some teeth — I've been involved in inquiries before and we can recommend till the buffalos come home. But if there's no changes, it's just not going to happen."
Sanderson made camp in bush
A second public inquest is scheduled to begin Feb. 26 in Saskatoon, focused on the death of Myles Sanderson in custody on Sept. 7, 2022.
Sgt. Evan Anderson, a supervisor with RCMP major crimes unit, spoke Monday after the final witness at the inquest in Melfort. He laid out the pursuit of Sanderson and his arrest, tying it into the next inquest.
Anderson said police determined that between Sept. 4 and 7, Sanderson never left the Wakaw area. He made a camp in the bush and stole food from a nearby residence. The owner of the home called police on Sept. 7, 2022, to report
that Sanderson had broken into her home and fled in her vehicle.
Investigators believe Sanderson only had the clothes on his back and no resources available, such as a phone or vehicle, until he made a decision to steal a truck, Anderson said.
He was in that truck, which had been reported as stolen, when police spotted him on Highway 11 north of Saskatoon. He died shortly after police stopped the truck and arrested him.
Support is available for people affected by this tragedy. The Hope for Wellness hotline offers immediate help to Indigenous people across Canada. Mental health counselling and crisis support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat at www.hopeforwellness.ca.
You can talk to a mental health professional via Wellness Together Canada by calling 1-866-585-0445 or text WELLNESS to 686868 for youth or 741741 for adults. It is free and confidential.
Talking Stick is a Saskatchewan-based free anonymous chat platform that connects people seeking emotional support to a trained Indigenous peer advocate 24/7.
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