Dawn Walker’s sister said she was overjoyed to learn she is returning home to Canada.
On Tuesday, a U.S. judge ordered Walker be returned to Canada to face charges of abduction in contravention of a custody order and public mischief.
Walker and her son were reported missing on July 24. They were found in a rental unit in Oregon City, Ore. on Aug. 5.
In early August, Walker said in a statement to the Canadian Press that “nothing was done” after she reported domestic abuse to police and child protection authorities.
Saskatoon police previously said any previous allegations made by Walker were thoroughly investigated and no charges were laid as a result.
In the U.S., Walker is charged with a felony offence related to “false statements” in the use of a passport identifying another person. She is also charged with a misdemeanor offence related to possession of an identification document that is stolen or produced without lawful authority.
Both the U.S. prosecutor and defence lawyer consented to Walker’s release back to Canada.
Saskatoon Police Service told Global News that Walker will be turned over to its custody in the coming days and will later make a court appearance, but did not specify a date.
Saskatchewan RCMP said the provost unit will facilitate the transport of Walker, which follows routine protocol.
“It was literally the answer to our prayers,” Kathy Walker, Dawn’s sister said about her return. “Just the thought of her being in a U.S. jail was really hard to even imagine what she was going through.”
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Kathy said the family is also working to get her sister out of jail and at home.
“My sister is not a criminal. She’s just a mother — a woman who wanted to protect herself and her son. She doesn’t deserve to be criminalized for what she did.”
Robert Currie, professor in transnational criminal law, said under the Canada-U.S. extradition treaty, both countries can agree that someone is charged in both countries.
“They can be tried first in Canada, then sent to the U.S. and tried there, and then, in fact, extradited back to Canada to serve their sentence here, if any, and then extradited back to the U.S. to serve any sentence that’s imposed there,” Currie said.
Currie said there is a chance Walker will be re-extradited back to the U.S., depending on a couple of factors.
“First, are the charges still ongoing? Because it’s not unusual in cases like these for the U.S. to drop the charges, because the charges there are for more minor offenses,” Currie added.
Other supporters of Walker are also happy to hear about her return home. Eleanore Sunchild, friend and lawyer, who is not representing Walker, said she’s happy to hear Walker is coming home.
“Dawn has her supports here in Saskatchewan. This is her land. This is where she’s from. So it’s overall better for her to deal with matters here in Canada, where she has access to many people who are behind her,” Sunchild said.
As an Indigenous person, Sunchild said she hopes “they don’t throw the book at her.
“I’ve seen many instances in Saskatchewan where the justice system has not treated indigenous people fairly, where the police have not treated Indigenous people fairly. So I hope that this is not the case with Dawn.”
Erica Beaudin, Regina Treaty Status Indian Services executive director, sees Walker’s return as an opportunity.
“I see Dawn coming home as an opportunity for all of us to, yes, support Dawn, but support changes that need to occur so that no other woman needs to go to the extents that Dawn did, where she felt threatened … for her reasons,” Beaudin said.
Beaudin added Walker’s case may put a spotlight on other issues, too.
“In my mind, the courts of the public eye are going to be on all of the systems that either were intended to protect her and her child and didn’t. In all of those systems what we are going to do in the future, so these types of situations don’t occur?”
— With files from The Canadian Press
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