Justice for Jake and Morris

Posted on: May 12, 2022

Update on Court Proceedings on Métis Hunters Murder Charges

May 11, 2021

The trial for two men charged with murdering two Metis subsistence hunters near Glendon, Alberta began on May 9, 2022 before a Court of Queen’s Bench judge and jury.  The trial is expected to last about 3 weeks.

The incident occurred in March, 2020 on a rural road about 260 kilometers northeast of Edmonton where the two Metis hunters, Jake Sansom and Maurice Cardinal were shot to death. Both men were denied bail a number of times and remain in custody during the trial.

The Metis Nation of Alberta take the safety, health and wellbeing of all of our citizens seriously, and we will be following the developments in this case.  It is important that as a Nation, all Metis must do their part to seize the opportunity to ensure that the laws of the country and the laws of the province fully protect all our people, in all areas of the law.

We learned not long ago in the case of the homicide of Cindy Gladue, that the legal system itself acknowledges systemic inadequacies which failed our people. In that case, even though a jury had acquitted the person found responsible for killing Cindy Gladue, after submissions had been heard from Indigenous representatives, the Supreme Court found that the legal process and procedures used failed to protect the Indigenous victim. The person who killed Ms Gladue was ordered to go through another trial and was convicted of manslaughter.

Constitutional and legal rights, as well as our traditional rights and practices must be respected by all, and we must all be ever-vigilant to protect our communities, families and individuals for all of our future generations.

We will release more information as it becomes available.