Alberta farmer convicted in deaths of Métis hunters denied full parole

An Alberta farmer convicted of manslaughter for helping his son kill two Métis hunters has been denied full parole.

Jacob Sansom and Maurice Cardinal were shot and left on the side of a rural road near Glendon, Alta., on the night of March 27, 2020. 

Roger Bilodeau — who wrongly assumed the men were thieves — had chased them in his truck before his son, Anthony, fired the fatal shots. 

Anthony Bilodeau was convicted of second-degree murder and is serving a life sentence.

His father, convicted by a jury of manslaughter in both deaths, was handed a 10-year sentence but granted credit for nearly half that term for time served.

In a Jan. 1 decision, the Parole Board of Canada again denied Roger Bilodeau full parole, instead extending his day parole by six months.

'Profound lack of judgment'

The parole board said the elder Bilodeau showed a "profound lack of judgment" on the day of the killings and made poor decisions based on unfounded assumptions.

The board's report details Bilodeau's strained return to his "previous life" in rural Alberta and the divisions and fears his newfound freedoms have caused in his home community.

Bilodeau has shown good behaviour while on day parole, but to grant him full parole would be premature, the board ruled.

"The harm to the victims' family and the larger community has been nothing short of devastating, ongoing and profound,"  the board wrote.

At trial in 2022, court heard that on the night of the killings, Roger Bilodeau started a high-speed chase, incorrectly assuming Sansom and Cardinal were thieves. In reality, the men were returning from a moose-hunting trip.

Bilodeau pursued the men in his truck at high speed, and called his son to bring a gun.

During a confrontation, Sansom suffered a single shot to the chest. Cardinal, his uncle, was shot three times. 

The Bilodeaus fled the scene. Cardinal, 57, and Sansom, 39, succumbed to their injuries. Their bodies were found on the roadside the following morning.

Vigilante justice

According to the parole board, Bilodeau continues to deny that he engaged in vigilante justice on the night of the killings. He also denied chasing the victims.

Bilodeau's failure to recognize his own motives continues to undermine his rehabilitation and minimizes the consequences of his crimes, the board found.

"Without a doubt, your actions were a form of vigilantism. Your failure to recognize this aspect of the offence is an indication that perhaps further interventions would be helpful," the board wrote. 

"Even if you truly believed the victims were present for an unlawful purpose, which belief is not based in evidence, you still engaged in vigilante justice by taking the law into your own hands.

"In all the circumstances, the board is not satisfied that the progress that you have made is sufficient to overcome the dangers to public safety."

Community divisions

Bilodeau has been on day parole since May 1, 2024. The board said he has returned to the same community where the killings occurred, where his access to a "wide degree of freedom" has "caused an uproar." 

The board said it had been flooded with letters of concern from residents, the Indigenous community and the victims' families — many of which expressed dissatisfaction with the justice system over Bilodeau's release.

"They describe the loss, grief and trauma that reverberates throughout the community as a result of the killings," the board wrote of the letters.

"[They] are in disbelief that parole is a possibility." 

The parole board also described two incidents of concern involving the Bilodeau family.

On the day before his release on day parole, the RCMP were called after Bilodeau's teenage son, behind the wheel of a tractor, allegedly chased some members of the victims' family who had congregated on a public road near the Bilodeau family farm. 

Then, last September, one of the Bilodeau sons, who was not involved in the killings, told a parole officer that he personally believed in "frontier justice."

The parole board said the son's comments were "disturbing" and demonstrate the same dangerous mindset that led to the deaths of two innocent men.

'Raw emotions at play'

The victims' family had called on the board to bar Bilodeau from living in Alberta "due to fear for their safety," the report said.

The board said it couldn't grant such a broad restriction but noted the harm caused by Bilodeau's prejudices and the violence of his crime.

"No matter the characterization of the events, the victims felt fearful," the board wrote. 

"This occurrence highlights the continued tensions and raw emotions at play in the community.

"It is important for you to have no contact with the victims' family and their supports. This is the safest course of action for both you and the community."

Under the conditions of his release, Bilodeau is barred from making contact with the victims' families and must continue undergoing psychological counselling and abide by a curfew.

He case is going to the Supreme Court of Canada in February for an appeal hearing.