Justice minister orders new trial for two in 1973 Winnipeg murder case By: Katrina Clarke Posted: 2:19 PM CDT Thursday, Jun. 22, 2023 Last Modified: 5:48 PM CDT Thursday, Jun. 22, 2023 Updates

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Canada’s justice minister has quashed the convictions of two Indigenous men convicted of murder in Manitoba nearly 50 years ago.

In a Thursday release, the federal Department of Justice announced Justice Minister David Lametti has ordered a new trial for Brian Anderson and Allan Woodhouse.

“The minister has determined that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred,” according to the release. “This is the result of the identification of new information that was not before the courts at the time of Mr. Anderson and Mr. Woodhouse’s trials or appeals.”

The two men from Fairford First Nation (now known as Pinaymootang, located 240 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg) were convicted of murder in 1974 for the killing of Ting Fong Chan, 40.

The chef and father of two was beaten and stabbed to death as he walked home from work in Winnipeg on July 17, 1973.

Anderson and Woodhouse, then 18 and 17, respectively, were sentenced to life in prison, with no eligibility for parole for 10 years. The men did not speak English fluently and say they were forced to sign false confessions.

Two other men — Clarence Woodhouse and Russell Woodhouse — were convicted of murder and manslaughter, respectively, in the case.

Jerome Kennedy, a director with Innocence Canada (formerly the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted), said he was on the phone Thursday morning with Anderson and Allan Woodhouse when they learned of the news.

“They were very happy,” Kennedy said. “It’s certainly a relief for them.”

The two men have always maintained their innocence.

“It’s just a testament to the human spirit, the strength of the human spirit,” Kennedy said. “The courage and perseverance of these men — it’s unbelievable.”

In a release, Innocence Canada said Anderson and Woodhouse were the victims of systemic racism. Their 1974 trial was before an all-white jury.

“Their cases raise important systemic issues that need to be addressed in Manitoba and across Canada,” said James Lockyer, also a director with Innocence Canada.

“Innocence Canada looks forward to discussing with the federal and provincial Governments the next steps in righting the wrongs done by our criminal justice system to Indigenous peoples in the past, and preventing the same wrongs being done to Indigenous peoples in the future.”

Lametti’s decision to step in comes after previous unsuccessful attempts at appeals.

Anderson and Woodhouse’s first filing to the Manitoba Court of Appeal was dismissed Nov. 8, 1974.

“Their cases raise important systemic issues that need to be addressed in Manitoba and across Canada.”–James Lockyer, Innocence Canada

In 1975, Anderson sought and was denied leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. Anderson was released on parole in the 1980s; Woodhouse in 1990.

Anderson and Woodhouse submitted applications for criminal conviction review in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

It is not yet clear when the new trial will occur.

A spokesperson for Manitoba Justice said the department is “analyzing the recent direction from Ottawa and further information will be available at a later date.”

In 2019, Anderson told the Free Press his years in prison were some of the darkest of his life.

“It is difficult. You try not to think about it. You got to make it day to day, year to year. You’ve still got to live. A lot of the time was hard, but you’ve got to keep going,” Anderson said. “There was nothing I could do about it. There was nobody I could turn to.”

“There was nothing I could do about it. There was nobody I could turn to.”–Brian Anderson in 2019

The Crown’s 1974 case was handled by then-rising star prosecutor George Dangerfield.

Dangerfield later oversaw four cases now deemed wrongful convictions: Frank Ostrowski, Thomas Sophonow, James Driskell, and Kyle Unger. The now-retired prosecutor is responsible for the most wrongful convictions in the country.

In February, the justice minister ordered a new appeal in another case handled by Dangerfield — that of Robert Sanderson, who was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder in 1997.

katrina.clarke@freepress.mb.ca

Katrina Clarke
Investigative reporter

Katrina Clarke is an investigative reporter at the Winnipeg Free Press. Katrina holds a bachelor’s degree in politics from Queen’s University and a master’s degree in journalism from Western University. She has worked at newspapers across Canada, including the National Post and the Toronto Star. She joined the Free Press in 2022. Read more about Katrina.

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