(Ottawa) Former NDP MP Roméo Saganash, accused of sexual assault, has been referred to a restorative justice program, the Manitoba government announced Friday.
Published at 6:31 p.m. Updated at 7:59 p.m.
Without further comment, a provincial spokesperson confirmed that the case had been referred to diversion and that the Manitoba Restorative Justice Center had accepted Mr. Saganash’s case and “accepted him into a program.”
The complainant in this case claims she was sexually assaulted on May 1, and Winnipeg police say they arrested Mr. Saganash on June 27.
Mr. Saganash’s lawyer, Ethan Pollock, said in an email earlier Friday that he was not “at liberty to discuss this matter until it is complete.”
None of the allegations have been tested in court. Pollock said in August that his client was presumed innocent and asked that his privacy be respected.
“Justice has not been served,” said the plaintiff’s lawyer
Carmen Roy, who works at the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation, decided to go public with this case in August. She then said in a written statement that she did not want to remain silent, but rather use her voice “to help other victims of sexual trauma.”
Her lawyer, Kathryn Marshall, said at the time that the alleged incident occurred while Ms. Roy was at work, but that she could not provide further details.
Ms. Marshall said Friday that she and her client learned last week that the case would be referred to a restorative justice program.
She added that her client did not believe this was an “appropriate resolution” to the charges.
“She was ready to go to trial and wanted accountability,” Marshall said. She is upset… and I realize that justice is not being served. »
Restorative justice is a criminal justice approach that allows a defendant to accept responsibility for the harm they have caused to someone. Its programs and processes take different forms.
The Government of Manitoba’s website states that one of the goals of its criminal justice modernization strategy is to use restorative justice options to “improve public safety, reduce delays in the justice system and ultimately reduce the use of incarceration.” to reduce”.
The website says such an approach “can be used at any stage of a case” by police or prosecutors.
A court clerk said Mr. Saganash’s next appearance was scheduled for Dec. 15.
“My client is a 10-year residential school survivor and lives with debilitating trauma resulting from this horrific experience,” Mr. Pollock said in a press release issued in August.
“Mr. Saganash has long been a valuable member of the Indigenous and Canadian political community,” he added.
Mr. Saganash, a Cree lawyer who helped negotiate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, represented the Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou riding in northern Quebec from 2011 to 2019.
In July 2022, he was named as one of the residential school survivors who would work with a national committee set up by the federal government to deal with possible unmarked graves and missing children.
The committee was founded by the federal government and the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation.
A spokesman said in August that he no longer held the post and did not say why or when he left the post.