James Smith Cree Nation councillor angry that killer using alias worked on First Nation after 2022 massacre
CBC
A band councillor on James Smith Cree Nation (JSCN) is angry that a convicted killer using an alias worked in the cultural centre on the First Nation following the Sept. 4, 2022, stabbing massacre.
"I couldn't believe this individual was in our community," said Deborah McLean in an interview.
"I almost puked, that's how awful I felt."
Myles Sanderson murdered 11 people and wounded 17 others in the rampage. Earl Burns Sr., one of the victims, was McLean's brother. A coroner's inquest in Melfort examining the events leading to the massacre offered 29 recommendations after almost three weeks of exhibits and testimony.
McLean is angry that Kelley Thackeray worked on JSCN prior to the inquest — under the name Kelley Bird-Naytowhow — without telling anyone that he'd previously been convicted of second-degree murder for stabbing a man.
Kelley Thackeray Bird-Naytowhow declined repeated requests for an interview. It's not clear exactly when, or why, he transitioned from presenting himself as Kelley Thackeray to Kelley Bird-Naytowhow.
JSCN Chief Wally Burns declined interview requests but, in a statement emailed to CBC, a spokesperson confirmed the leadership "learned that Kelley Bird-Naytowhow was Kelley Thackeray when Band Councillor Deborah McLean brought that information forward in the fall of 2023."
McLean learned of Thackeray's background in October 2023 when another therapist sent her a 2016 Toronto Sun article.
"I was really shocked," she said. "I went to the band office, and they were shocked."
The 2016 newspaper story featured an interview with Patricia Newman, the younger sister of Barrie, Ont., taxi driver Gary Newman, who had been stabbed 29 times in a robbery gone bad in 2001.
Kelley Thackeray pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Newman's death in 2004 and was released on full parole in 2014. In the newspaper story, Patricia Newman spoke about getting updates on Thackeray from the parole board.
"They tell me he travels to Saskatchewan a lot," Newman said. "For a convicted murderer, sounds like he's having a pretty good life."
The Parole Board of Canada decision to release Thackeray characterized him as a low risk to reoffend and applauded his efforts to move forward. CBC obtained the parole documents.
"He [the parole officer] indicated you've resumed your university studies, completed a sun dance with positive results, and volunteer," his parole board pre-release decision sheet said.
N.W.T. Education Minister Caitlin Cleveland says she has received the final report from an independent investigation into education bodies in the Dehcho region.
P.E.I.’s auditor general says he’s concerned and disappointed that the projected deficit has doubled what government initially estimated it would be — and he's urging the province to balance its budget.
A man found not criminally responsible for stabbing five people to death at a Calgary house party is getting more freedoms but not an absolute discharge.
A man has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of a Toronto mother outside a supervised consumption site in Leslieville.
Russian olive trees — sometimes known as silver berry or oleaster — are small, ornamental plants with silvery leaves and black bark, and small yellow flowers and silver fruit that look like miniature olives. They’re pretty, but they’re a problem.
The Yukon Legislative Assembly’s fall sitting ended on Thursday after the territorial government introduced and passed a supplementary budget.
A Canadian military counter-intelligence operative, who stands accused of passing sensitive information to Ukraine, was involved in an investigation into allegations that a leading Canadian defence journalist was a longtime Russian asset.
An Alberta panel aimed at finding ways the province can strengthen its autonomy has offered up seven recommendations, including options for referendum topics.
People won't be able to travel along B.C.'s Highway 3 without significant delays and detours over the holiday season, says the Ministry of Transportation.
Photos of a wooden box, allegedly used for student "time outs" at an elementary school in Akwesasne, drew shock and anger from parents this week and have prompted an investigation by the school district.
A 26-year-old man from Toronto has been arrested on terrorism charges, police announced on Friday, as well as charges for two attempted kidnappings in the Greater Toronto Area.
St. Jude’s Anglican Church in Iqaluit has fallen on tough financial times.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a large shuffle of deputy ministers and senior public servants in a shake-up at the top of the public service that has long been expected around Ottawa.