Canada Examining Pardon Process In Wake Of James Result

Right on the heels of another junior hockey player coming forward with sexual abuse allegations against former junior hockey coach Graham James, the National Parole Board is having to explain granting James a pardon in 2007 after he completed a 3½-year prison sentence.

Problem was: No one knew until Sunday after another accuser contacted Winnipeg police about James.

Their explanation according to CBC News:

"The Criminal Records Act does not differentiate pardon applicants by the type of offence they have committed, nor does it allow the board to refuse to grant a person a pardon based on the nature of their crime," said the statement by Caroline Douglas, a spokeswoman for the board.

"A pardon is not meant to erase or excuse a criminal act. A pardon means that the record of the conviction is kept separate and apart from other criminal records."

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews says the federal government will look into giving the National Parole Board more "direction."

"These things should not just be rubber-stamped," Toews said when the news broke. "There may have to be more consideration by the board given to the particular type of offence, and at the present time the board is not entitled to differentiate between offences."

The government could decide to ban sex criminals from receiving pardons or lengthen the waiting time before applying, Toews suggested.

Jim Brown of CBC Radio/Calgary talks with the parliamentary secretary within the Public Safety ministry in an attempt to explain the James pardon...

Here's Sheldon Kennedy, obviously disappointed in the process and the lack of notification on James' pardon...
((HT: CP/Waterloo Record))


Michael Platt of the Calgary Sun reports another former junior hockey star now undergoing therapy in Calgary has added his name to a list of players pursuing sexual-abuse charges against James.

The unidentified player has asked police to investigate allegations of sexual abuse during the 1990s while on a team in Saskatchewan. Remember... James, who has already been convicted of abusing two former players, coached the Swift Current Broncos from 1986 to 1994.

There are also reports out of Manitoba province that two more players are seeking charges against James who coached the Fort Garry Blues in the 1980s.