The city's legal department is proposing that Winnipeg pay $7 million to settle claims brought by three Indigenous men wrongfully convicted of killing a restaurant worker in 1973.
Allan Woodhouse and Brian Anderson, members of the Pinaimutang First Nation in Interlake, were formally acquitted of the 1973 murder of Tin Fong Chan in 2023 and filed claims in the Court of Queen's Bench in 2024 alleging a miscarriage of justice.
Allan's brother Clarence Woodhouse, who was formally acquitted of murder in October 2024, filed the claim in February last year. The fourth man convicted, the brother of Clarence Woodhouse, died in 2011.
BRITTANY HOBSON/CANADIAN PRESS FILES
Allan Woodhouse (front left), Brian Anderson and James Lockyer, Director of Innocence Canada. The city's interim director of legal services is recommending that the council's executive committee approve contributions to the wrongful conviction settlement of Woodhouse, Anderson and a third party.
The federal Justice Minister has ordered the Manitoba Court of Appeal to review Russell Woodhouse's sentence.
This review has not yet taken place. His estate is not among the plaintiffs seeking damages from the city, as well as the provincial and federal governments.
Over the summer, the parties and the men's lawyers met for mediation before Court of Queen's Bench Justice Ken Champagne in an attempt to settle the matter without going to trial.
The city's interim Legal Services Director Ashley Pledger recommended that the council's executive policy committee vote to approve a $7 million contribution to a potential settlement proposed during those meetings.
“If the recommended settlement is not approved, the City will have to incur significant outside legal and related costs to pursue litigation,” the Mortgage Officer wrote.
The mortgagor made the recommendation in an administrative report ahead of next week's EPC meeting.
Mayor Scott Gillingham said he expects to vote in favor of the settlement.
“That's what the courts said, so the city has an obligation to do what the courts told us to do,” Gillingham said. “But first of all, at the meeting we are going to have discussions with city officials.”
Civil bureaucrats are negotiating with the insurance companies that covered the city at the time about the amounts those firms will contribute, but the insurance payout is expected to be less than the settlement amount, meaning some of the money will have to come directly from the municipal government, Bailor wrote in its report, which was made public this week.
If the settlement is approved by all parties, the lawsuits will be dropped.
“If the claims are not resolved, next steps include exchanging documentary disclosures, examining the parties, and engaging experts regarding liability and damage assessment,” she wrote in the report.
“These steps are expected to take years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
The mortgagor recommended that the committee approve the city's $500,000 overspending on outside attorney fees and other expenses if the council does not approve the settlement proposal.
It was not clear Wednesday what financial figures the federal and provincial governments could offer under the mediation process known as court-assisted dispute resolution.
Ian McLeod, a spokesman for the federal Department of Justice, said the trial and everything that stems from it are confidential. He declined further comment.
MIKE DIEHL / FREE PRESS FILES
Clarence Woodhouse, the third wrongfully convicted person to file a lawsuit in the case.
Ryan Stelter, a spokesman for the provincial government, said he could not comment on details of the settlement, “which the parties have agreed will be confidential.”
The allegations allege abuse of public office, false arrest, false imprisonment, conspiracy, negligent investigation, malicious prosecution, violations of the Constitution and human rights, and failure to perform statutory duties.
The four men are represented by lawyer James Lockyer of Innocence Canada, a non-profit organization that identifies and defends the wrongfully convicted. Lockyer spent years defending and arguing that their convictions were a miscarriage of justice.
He did not comment on the situation on Wednesday.
The three living men, as well as Russell Woodhouse, were convicted in 1974 of the 1973 murder of Ting Fong Chan, a 40-year-old father of two.
The four were charged based on dubious eyewitness accounts and confessions that were later found to be fabricated. Even though all four had poor command of English, the police provided a full confession written in English.
The men testified that Winnipeg police beat them during interrogations, but the judge refused to believe them.
The cases were prosecuted by Crown prosecutor George Dangerfield, who was involved in several wrongful death convictions. He died in 2023.
Anderson served 10 years behind bars, Clarence Woodhouse spent 12 years in prison and Allan Woodhouse served 23 years before they were found not guilty. Russell Woodhouse also served time; he died in 2011.
Last month, federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser ordered Manitoba's highest court to reconsider Russell Woodhouse's sentence. A notice of appeal was filed on October 1, but the case has not yet been heard.
This is the first time that a federal attorney general has requested a judicial review of a case following the death of an applicant.
Eric Pindera, newspaper reporter Free pressmainly focusing on crime and justice. The Winnipegger native attended Red River Polytechnic College and wrote for a local newspaper in Kenora, Ontario. and performed on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining Free press in 2020. More about Eric.
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