A sexual assault charge was stayed against a former Member of Parliament in a Winnipeg court on Tuesday, but his accuser isn’t giving up on her fight for “accountability and justice.”
Romeo Saganash, a Cree lawyer who represented the riding of Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou in northern Quebec from 2011 to 2019, was arrested by Winnipeg police on June 27 last year over an allegation the former NDP MP sexually touched a woman at a meeting on May 1, 2023.
The sex assault charge was referred to the provincial justice department’s restorative justice programming last October.
ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
NDP MP Romeo Saganash rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
On Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Bruce Sychuk asked provincial court Judge Rob Finlayson to stay the charge and order a one-year peace bond barring contact and communication with the complainant, Carmen Roy, as a result of Saganash’s completion of the program.
Saganash’s lawyer in the criminal proceeding, Ethan Pollock, said he had reviewed the peace bond with his client, who agreed with its terms.
The court order, which Finlayson authorized, also requires he keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
“Romeo Saganash is an incredible man, who will leave a lasting legacy in Canadian politics,” Pollock said following the hearing. “He is looking forward to putting this chapter behind him and continuing on with his life.”
There are exceptions to the peace bond — a type of protection order — for indirect contact via lawyers and to see each other in person with lawyers present for the purposes of the complainant’s ongoing lawsuit against Saganash.
“Romeo Saganash is an incredible man, who will leave a lasting legacy in Canadian politics. He is looking forward to putting this chapter behind him and continuing on with his life.”–Ethan Pollock
Roy filed a lawsuit in the Court of King’s Bench on April 30 over the alleged sexual assault, detailing the specifics of the accusations for the first time.
Roy said in her April court documents that she did not want prosecutors to divert the criminal charge to the restorative justice program in the first place.
Her lawyer in the civil proceedings, Kathryn Marshall, said the Crown staying the charge “is not justice.”
“My client’s consent was not sought, and she was denied an opportunity to give a victim impact statement. We look forward to our day in civil court, where we are seeking accountability and justice,” Marshall said on Tuesday.
The federal government appointed Saganash, as a residential school survivor, to work with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s national advisory committee on missing children and potential unmarked burial sites in 2022. Roy is the executive assistant to the head of the centre, Stephanie Scott.
Saganash was suspended from the group once Roy made the allegations.
Roy’s court documents say she was at a breakfast meeting at the Four Points Sheraton Winnipeg when Saganash arrived late smelling of alcohol, then appeared “highly intoxicated” after lunch.
She alleges in the lawsuit Saganash stared at her and sniffed her, before proceeding to grab her underneath her breasts. Roy claims in the documents that her boss then told Saganash not to touch her, but he murmured and chuckled, then grabbed and touched her inner thigh.
Roy texted her boss, the court papers say, who then switched seats with her. Scott had Saganash driven home and he did not show up to a meeting about the incident the next day, the lawsuit claims.
Roy met with prosecutor Sychuk in August, her lawsuit claims, who characterized Saganash’s offence as being on the low end of the spectrum.
According to her lawsuit, Sychuk said Saganash would be a likely candidate for the restorative justice program if he accepted responsibility for his actions.
Roy said she was not consulted about the decision to place him in the program.
The civil allegations have not been tested in court.
“We look forward to our day in civil court, where we are seeking accountability and justice.”–Kathryn Marshall
Saganash’s lawyer in the civil matter, Martin Pollock, filed a notice of motion seeking to have portions of the claim struck for violating the rules of civil pleadings.
The motion brief, filed May 17, alleges the claim includes “argumentative and irrelevant information inserted for colour designed to embarrass and bear cruelly on the moral character of the defendant.”
The brief says portions of the claim are “frivolous, vexatious and scandalous.”
Among the portions of the claim alleged to violate the pleading rules are the sections on the referral to the restorative justice program and the Crown’s duties.
“The claim as it stands is offensive,” reads the motion brief. “It is apparent that this action intentionally conflates criminal law process with tedious length to embarrass the defendant and is an abuse of the court process.”
The motion, which also seeks an extension for Saganash to file a statement of defence, is scheduled to be heard in June.
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Erik Pindera
Reporter
Erik Pindera reports for the city desk, with a particular focus on crime and justice.
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