Wrongful conviction commission to be based in Winnipeg

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This article was published 07/03/2025 (214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission, which will review wrongful conviction cases, will be headquartered in Winnipeg, the federal government announced Friday.

Susan Milgaard, whose brother David Milgaard spent 23 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of killing a Saskatoon woman in 1969, is pleased by the news.

She said she was “very happy” when the federal government contacted her to let her know the commission would be headquartered in the city where her brother was born and raised.

“I think it’s terrific for Winnipeg,” Milgaard said. “I’m excited it is in my backyard so I can keep an eye on them.”

David Milgaard died in May, 2022 at age 69.

Susan Milgaard said she believes Winnipeg is a fitting location because of the number of wrongful convictions here in the past few decades.

Throughout the years, federal justice ministers and the courts have found eight men in five cases were wrongfully convicted by a single prosecutor, George Dangerfield, who prosecuted Thomas Sophonow, James Driskell and Kyle Unger among others. Dangerfield died in 2023.

“I’m just so very grateful we have got to this step,” she said. “The next step will be who runs it.

“I tell people every day, if you’re having a bad day, take a step forward. Well, this is a very big step forward.”

Federal Justice Minister Arif Virani said the independent commission will replace the current process in which the minister reviews each case.

“Today’s announcement is a key milestone in our commitment to a fair and accountable justice system… we are taking a significant step toward ensuring those that have been wrongly convicted have a clear path to justice. We remain steadfast in our efforts to make the commission fully operational as soon as possible,” the minister said.

On Thursday, legal measures took effect to allow the commission to be established. The Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission Act (David and Joyce Milgaard’s Law) received royal assent late last year after it was passed by the Senate.

David’s mother, Joyce, fought for years to overturn her son’s conviction. Joyce died in 2020, 30 years after David was released from prison after the Saskatchewan government entered a stay of proceedings.

The commission won’t have the power to find someone guilty or innocent — something only the courts can do — but it can order a new trial or appeal.

Veteran Toronto criminal lawyer James Lockyer, a founding director of Innocence Canada, formerly known as the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, said Winnipeg is the right choice for the commission.

“Manitoba has shown it can deal with cases of wrongful conviction and correct them when they have to. I think it is a very good move and a very welcome development.”

Terry Duguid, the Winnipeg South MP who is a federal cabinet minister, said the creation of the commission is “a critical step in making our justice system more fair and accessible.”

“Wrongful convictions have real and lasting consequences, and Canada’s current system for wrongful convictions is underserving Indigenous peoples, women, and racialized communities,” Duguid said in a statement. “By creating an independent commission, we’re ensuring that those who may have been wrongfully convicted have a clearer, more effective path to justice.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca