Tuesday was a long-awaited day at the James Smith Cree Nation stabbing inquest as members of Correctional Service Canada testified about Myles Sanderson’s release from prison.
Sanderson was released from the Saskatchewan Penitentiary in February 2022 on statutory release, just months before he stabbed and killed 11 people on James Smith Cree Nation and in the community of Weldon.
There was a warrant for his arrest at the time of the murders and he was considered “unlawfully at large.”
Members of the First Nation have been questioning why the community wasn’t notified of Sanderson’s release from the penitentiary, despite his lengthy criminal record and violent history.
Planning for Sanderson’s release from the Saskatchewan Penitentiary
Sanderson was moved from a provincial correctional facility to the Saskatchewan Penitentiary in May 2019.
While he applied for parole in 2021, a teleconference was held between Sanderson, Correctional Service Canada and Calvin Sanderson, chief of the Chakastaypasin Band, one of the three communities that make up James Smith Cree Nation.
“The community was supportive of his possible return to the community,” Cindy Gee with Correctional Service Canada said.
The organization is under legal obligation to notify an Indigenous community if a violent offender is going to be released to the area.
Sanderson was denied parole twice by the Parole Board of Canada before his statutory release.
During the planning of his statutory release, Sanderson requested that he be released to Saskatoon to live with his father instead of on James Smith Cree Nation.
He was released from the Saskatchewan Penitentiary to the city in August 2021 and again in February 2022.
“He was never released to a First Nation community,” Gee said.
Since Sanderson was no longer being released to James Smith Cree Nation, Correctional Service Canada never reached back out to the band to warn it about his release.
Gee said she didn’t know if the First Nation band ever followed up on where Sanderson was released.
“It would have been helpful information for the band to know if he was coming.”
Sanderson’s merits for statutory release
Before Sanderson’s release, correctional services reviewed and considered him for detention – holding him in custody until the end of his sentence – but decided he was eligible to be released on conditions.
“His behaviour was good, he was actively engaged in high-intensity programming, he was working with the elder,” Gee said.
Sanderson’s institutional parole officer, Jessica Diks, said there were noticeable changes in his behaviour while he was incarcerated.
“His presentation changed significantly over time,” Diks said. “He became much more engaged with myself as his parole officer and other institutional officers.”
Diks said when Sanderson came to the Saskatchewan Penitentiary he was “guarded, adversarial, accusatory,” and didn’t like someone else showing authority over him.
He scored “low” on an assessment related to reintegration potential due to his history of violent offences and lack of family and community supports.
However, compared with other offenders in the province, the inquest heard Sanderson’s criminal record is considered fairly mild.
“For a violent offender at 30 years old, Mr. Sanderson’s record isn’t that remarkable,” Diks said.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Ryan How made a similar statement on Monday, saying Sanderson wouldn’t be considered in Saskatchewan’s top 60 most wanted.
Sanderson’s statutory release conditions and breaches
When Sanderson was released from the Saskatchewan Penitentiary, he was released on the highest level of supervision required by corrections.
He was required to meet with his parole officer at least eight times a month, reside in Saskatoon with his father full-time, not engage in intimate partner relationships and comply with no-contact orders.
According to testimony from Saskatoon Parole Office supervisor Linda Flahr, Sanderson was found to be living with his common-law partner Vanessa Burns on Nov. 3 2021 after his release.
He turned himself in to the police upon the suspension of his release and was returned to the penitentiary.
Sanderson lied to his parole officer about his living situation eight times before he was caught.
Upon his second release in early 2022, Flahr said Sanderson seemed more embracing of the conditions of his parole.
“We didn’t see that resistance, that frustration with the restrictions. He was reporting as required, going to programming consistently, he found employment.”
He breached his conditions again on May 23, screaming and banging on Burns’ door demanding to be let in despite a no-contact order.
An arrest warrant was issued by RCMP on May 24 and Sanderson was considered “unlawfully at large.”
Flahr said due to a privacy act, the Saskatoon Parole Office couldn’t reach out to James Smith Cree Nation regarding the warrant without Sanderson’s consent.
Sanderson wasn’t brought into police custody until after his stabbing rampage in September, where he died.