Chief Justice Glenn Joyal of Manitoba says it was important for his superior court to make room for First Nations customs in the trial of Jeremy Skibicki, a serial killer of four Indigenous women in Winnipeg.Daniel Crump/The Globe and Mail
The Manitoba judge who convicted a serial killer last summer for the murders of four First Nations women believes the high-profile trial should be a template for how Canadian courts build trust with Indigenous peoples. But he stopped short of calling for a public inquiry into how the killings were investigated.
King’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal said the case offers the opportunity to be used as an avenue for restoring confidence in the country’s justice system, especially for Indigenous communities, many of which have lost faith in the process because of historic shortfalls and long-term discrimination.
The victims’ families, along with more than 600 First Nations leaders from coast to coast, have been demanding an independent public inquiry to probe how police and other officials handled the women’s murders. Justice Joyal said while he has his own views on whether an inquiry is needed, openly sharing his personal stance on that would “automatically put pressure” on the people, including Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, who “are well placed to make the decision.”
Nonetheless, the judge said, this trial opens the door for wide-ranging changes and new approaches. The courts, with their founding common-law system and civil-law convention, must learn to co-exist with long-standing Indigenous traditions, Justice Joyal said. That means incorporating time-honoured customs, such as oathtaking with an eagle feather or seeking mediation from community elders, into legal proceedings.
“At a time when our institutions are increasingly doubted, we have to be in a position to acknowledge where we fall short and where we might improve,” he said. “It is a judicial responsibility. This is work that is paramount to the Canadian project of reconciliation.”
Mr. Skibicki, at right beside defence lawyer Leonard Tailleur, faced Justice Joyal at a judge-only trial that found him guilty of first-degree murder.James Culleton/The Canadian Press
Judges in Canada rarely give interviews, and it is uncommon for them to discuss their own cases. But Justice Joyal said he chose to speak with The Globe and Mail about this trial to broadly discuss its national implications.
After nearly two years of legal proceedings, 37-year-old Jeremy Skibicki was found guilty last July on all counts for the first-degree murders of 24-year-old Rebecca Contois, 26-year-old Marcedes Myran, 39-year-old Morgan Harris and a yet-to-be-identified woman whom Indigenous elders have named Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, meaning Buffalo Woman.
Justice Joyal, who presided over the judge-only trial, agreed with the evidence demonstrating that Mr. Skibicki preyed on the women at shelters for vulnerable people, inviting them back to his home to sexually assault them, before killing them, then engaging in further sexual acts on their bodies. He then dumped their dismembered remains in garbage bins, which ended up in Winnipeg-area landfills, the judge concluded.
However, before delivering his sentence, Justice Joyal allowed for victim impact statements – an anomaly used in only around 11 per cent of all cases, according to Statistics Canada. Mr. Skibicki was then sentenced to life in prison.
“Being able to share how we felt made us all feel seen, made us all feel part of that gruesome process,” said Cambria Harris, daughter of Morgan Harris.
Cambria Harris received support from many First Nations two winters ago at Camp Morgan, a blockade at the Brady Road landfill. Ms. Harris's mother is believed to be buried at another landfill, Prairie Green.Melissa Tait/The Globe and Mail
Morgan Harris was one of four women that Mr. Skibicki was convicted of sexually assaulting and killing.John Woods/The Canadian Press
Throughout the trial, such purposeful choices became a key fixture in the way the case was handled.
Along with witnesses being sworn in with an eagle feather, a holy symbol of strength among Indigenous cultures, the courtroom was smudged in a traditional cleansing ceremony before each proceeding, while elders were consulted as knowledge keepers to provide support. On the last day, paintings and posters illustrating red dresses and handprints were displayed at the front of the room, an emblem for how the case became representative of the Canada-wide crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Justice Joyal, appointed to his post in early 2011, said this approach was possible because of his superior court’s years-long work toward reconciliation – which enabled both the Crown and defence to not only be on the same page about the trial’s trauma-informed choices but to collaborate on them.
“The trial itself and the process became a very public forum that enabled a court like the Court of King’s Bench in a province uniquely situated like Manitoba to absorb and integrate these new sensibilities,” Justice Joyal said, referencing the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Describing Manitoba as “ground zero” for both the generational horrors inflicted upon Indigenous peoples and now for reconciliation, Justice Joyal said the system has to be open to pluralistic methods toward justice.
In other provinces, the imperatives for such initiatives may not be as acute as in Manitoba, he said. However, he suggested other judges across the country could use their own discretion to employ these practices.
“In an era where institutions have to be continually buttressed or fortified, what we have to do is to continue to earn trust. Judicial reconciliation involves, at its core, earning that trust.”
Years of work at the Manitoba Law Courts made it possible for the Crown and defence to agree on practices during Mr. Skibicki's trial, Justice Joyal says.John Woods/The Canadian Press
Brandon Trask, an assistant professor of law at the University of Manitoba, said a majority of the steps taken during the trial are achievable in other Canadian courts. But this case was unique, he cautioned. “I wouldn’t say that every aspect of this trial should be applied to future cases,” said the former Crown prosecutor in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.
After pleading not guilty since his arrest in 2022, Mr. Skibicki admitted to the killings on the eve of the trial, but asked that the court find him not criminally responsible for murder. His lawyers argued he was not able to appreciate or understand his crimes because of his mental health. In the end, the defence was not able to prove its case, and Justice Joyal found the killings were deliberate and planned.
Cases like this don’t often end up in the courts, Prof. Trask said. Many Indigenous women and girls remain missing, their killers never identified or caught, let alone prosecuted for murder, he said. And the victims’ relatives often don’t feel heard through the process or believe it provided them justice, he added, noting that such was the case with British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton.
“There’s all sorts of lessons to be taken from this trial,” Prof. Trask said. “But I don’t think any of those lessons take away from the fact that the fairness of the process and the need for proving that someone is truly guilty beyond a reasonable doubt continue to remain the most important parts of the system.”
Justice Joyal agrees. He said he does not want to see the level of trust for the courts depend on the results of individual cases.
Jorden Myran, middle, says the trial of her sister's killer strengthened her faith in the court's approach to justice.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Jorden Myran, sister of Marcedes Myran, said as raw and difficult as the trial was, it legitimized her belief in the courts. “After waiting for years, after the police and government refused to search for my sister, it was the trial that finally gave our family a sense of relief.”
Jeremy Contois, Rebecca Contois’s brother, said the process gave him a sense of closure. But he still wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes wondering why this happened to his family.
“All of our lingering emotions and worries are because there are still many questions we don’t have answers for,” said Cambria Harris. “Like, why did the police not look for my mother’s body in the landfill where that man dumped her?”
Although Winnipeg police had located the body of Ms. Contois shortly after the killer’s arrest, the remains of the other three women have never been found.
Gary Anandasangaree, the federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister, has criticized Winnipeg police, stating that the case shows systemic issues within the service; still, he stopped short of calling for an inquiry into the matter. Mr. Kinew has also not committed to a public inquiry.
Justice Joyal emphasized he is an institutionalist. He believes in the robust role that the judiciary can play in Canadian society, especially for reconciliatory efforts. “But we are also just one institution, right? It’s got to be balanced with the executive and legislative branches,” he said.
Daniel Crump/The Globe and Mail
Justice in Manitoba: More on The Decibel
When Winnipeg’s serial killer of Indigenous women was convicted this past summer, Temur Durrani spoke with The Decibel about the trial and next steps for the families seeking justice. Subscribe for more episodes.