Colin Thatcher, a man who was convicted for the first-degree murder of his ex-wife, was invited by MLA Lyle Stewart to the 2022 throne speech on Wednesday.
Stewart has since put out a statement calling the move an ‘error in judgement’.
“Each MLA is given the opportunity to invite a number of guests to the Throne Speech. It was my decision alone to invite Colin Thatcher, who is a constituent and long-time friend. In retrospect, this was an error in judgment as his presence was a distraction from a very positive and forward-looking Throne Speech, which included a number of new initiatives to keep Saskatchewan families safe in their communities,” read the statement.
Thatcher sat next to a police chief, while Lt.-Gov. Russ Mirasty read the speech, part of which was focused on cracking down on crime in the province.
Thatcher spent over two decades in prison for the 1983 slaying of his ex-wife.
When asked if he thinks the government needs tougher crime measures, Thatcher laughed and said “enough” before walking away from reporters.
During Thursday’s question period Premier Scott Moe was asked about Thatcher’s presence at the throne speech. He said only that he would have ‘done things differently’.
“This was an individual that invited someone, it wasn’t a government that invited someone, I think we need to draw that distinction,” Moe said.
NDP Opposition Leader Carla Beck called Thatcher’s invitation a hypocritical move by the Sask Party, adding that the provincial government should work on dealing with domestic violence in Saskatchewan.
“We have the highest domestic violence rate in the country, double the national average, something that has never been addressed by this government. I think people will be shocked to hear that that invitation was made, and again, I would ask the government to hold themselves to the same standards, be a little less hypocritical on this, and frankly, to dig in and actually deal with the issue of domestic violence,” Beck said.
She added this shows that the Sask Party is out of step with the realities of the province, noting that it also hasn’t taken up the calls for justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women.
The Executive Director for Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan, Jo-Anne Dusel, put out a statement on Thatcher’s presence at the speech, calling it ‘disturbing’.
“Colin Thatcher was deemed guilty by a court of law of the death of his former wife. He served his time and according to our legal system he has paid his debt to society. JoAnn Wilson is still dead. For those who loved her no amount of time served will amount to true justice,” read the statement.
The message sent by the presence of Mr. Thatcher, as an invited guest of a government MLA is disturbing to say the least. We are often asked why Saskatchewan has the highest rates of IPV (intimate partner violence) among the Canadian provinces. This is a complex issue and there are many contributing factors. One of them is surely an attitude that condones violence against women.”
“The message to individuals who use violence in their intimate relationships, the message is equally chilling. See, the message goes, you can commit murder and even if you are tried and convicted, at some point you will have your life back.”
Dusel said she hopes this is an opportunity for reflection by Stewart on what it means to be held accountable for our actions.
Alex Docking, a retired journalist who knew Thatcher, gave some background on him, saying that he was the son of a former premier of the province.
Docking said Thatcher was a wealthy rancher who went into politics himself.
He noted that Thatcher went through a custody case for his kid.
“It was a very ugly custody battle. Their younger son was taken away to California to keep him away from JoAnn. So it was very ugly, very disturbing, disgusting divorce case, and it publicly played out as well,” Docking said.
He said someone shot at Wilson in her home and injured her badly.
Docking said Wilson backed off on the custody battle but said that didn’t resolve everything.
“It all resulted in her being brutally murdered in the garage of that home in 1983.”
“It was an atrocious example of domestic violence,” Docking added.
“I would not have ever thought I’d see the day that Colin Thatcher would be back inside of the legislature.”
— with files from The Canadian Press