COLUMN: View from the Legislature – Serial killers get discounted sentences

Last month a serial killer, convicted of killing four women in Winnipeg, was sentenced in a downtown courtroom. In issuing the sentence, following emotional victim impact statements, Chief Justice Glenn Joyal told the court that the sentence he was about to give the serial killer was not adequate to reflect the gravity of the offences of the murderer or their moral culpability.

Just reading those words might leave one wondering why Chief Justice Joyal didn’t give a harsher sentence if he believed the one given was not adequate? The reality is that he gave the strongest sentence that Canadian law allows, life without the possibility of parole for 25 years. Despite killing four people, the murderer will be able to apply for parole in 25 years. That is because the Supreme Court of Canada struck down a previous law that allowed judges to impose consecutive life sentences for those who are convicted of killing more than one person. In this particular case, that would have allowed the judge to impose four consecutive life sentences essentially ensuring the life in prison would truly be life in prison.

The provision to allow for consecutive life sentences for serial killers was brought in by the Conservative government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. It was struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2022. At that time, as the provincial Minister of Justice and Attorney General, I called on Parliament to use the legislative tools at its disposal to reinstate the law. The current Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has refused to do so ensuring that serial killers are receiving a discounted sentence.

After last weeks verdict, several family members of the victims spoke out about the unfairness of having parole eligibility after 25 years. These were similar to the expressions of outrage voiced at a House of Commons committee in 2022 by the family of victims of serial killers. At that committee families spoke about the disappointment and the outrage at the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision which they felt devalued the lives of their family members who were killed.

They also spoke of the revictimization they may have to endure when the killer of their loved one is eligible to apply for parole after 25 years. Regardless if the individual is successful in obtaining parole, just the fact that these victims families will have to faced this prospect brings a level of stress and anxiety that adds to the horrific trauma of losing a loved one to murder.

Following the Winnipeg court ruling, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew stated that the killer of the four women should spend his life behind bars. On this Premier Kinew and I agree. However, it is not enough in these cases simply to wish things were different. It will require legislative change in Parliament to ensure future cases are able to be sentenced differently. And while Mr. Kinew is not a federal politician, he has an important voice and should follow the lead of past Manitoba leaders and advocate for the current federal government, or the next federal government, to take the legislative steps necessary to ensure that serial killers no longer receive a discounted sentence.