A family member of five slain students holds a heart sign with their names on it following a court decision in Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, May 25, 2016. Alberta’s highest court is being asked to overturn a review board decision on the stabbing deaths of five young people at a Calgary house party that confined a man to a supervised Edmonton group home. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

By Ritika Dubey in Edmonton

Alberta’s highest court is being asked to overturn a review board decision that confined a man to a supervised Edmonton group home after the stabbing deaths of five young people at a Calgary house party.

The lawyer representing Matthew de Grood argued Wednesday the review board’s decision was biased, citing what she described as political interference from Alberta’s former justice minister.

“The appellant says, ‘I think the conclusion about me is wrong. The board’s conclusion is incorrect and not supported by evidence,”’ Jacqueline Petrie said before the Alberta Court of Appeal. “He says there’s no significant evidence that he’s a risk.”

De Grood, 31, was found not criminally responsible in 2016 for the killings two years earlier of Zackariah Rathwell, Jordan Segura, Kaitlin Perras, Josh Hunter and Lawrence Hong because he was suffering from schizophrenia at the time. Petrie said de Grood has been stable on medication, is at low risk to reoffend and should be allowed to live with his parents while being monitored under a full warrant.

She argued the review board misunderstood medical evidence during the September 2022 review, which deemed de Grood a significant risk despite the assessment showing improvements. She said the board is supposed to recommend the least onerous disposition compatible with public safety and did not do that for de Grood.

The defence lawyer has said the review had been influenced by former justice minister Doug Schweitzer, who weighed in on de Grood’s case in October 2019 after the panel allowed de Grood to transition from institutional care to a supervised group home.

He has been under supervision at a group home. His case is reviewed by the Alberta Review Board yearly to see whether he can transition back into the community while maintaining public safety.

Petrie pointed at de Grood’s “exemplary record,” and that he has been “compliant to the (medical) treatment team.”

“Nobody knew he had schizophrenia (at the time of the stabbings) and needed medication.”

Crown prosecutor Matthew Griener said the board considered a conditional discharge but dismissed it, citing a relapse in schizophrenia symptoms in 2021.

Griener said de Grood’s relapses were brief and happened at the hospital, providing an early window for medical professionals to intervene.

Justice Kevin Feehan said de Grood may be low-risk, but the consequences of even one relapse could be significant.

Reading from an expert’s report, Feehan said: “A low risk to offend doesn’t mean the reoffence would not be severe.”

Some family members of the victims drove from Calgary for the hearing.

Segura’s mother, Patty, said the last nine years have been about de Grood and his rights.

“He should be thankful that he ended up NCR (not criminally responsible) rather than end(ing) with five life sentences for murdering five people,” she said. “He should not be appealing.”

Hunter’s father, Barclay, opposed a potential full release.

“The idea that he wouldn’t be monitored for the rest of his life seems to defy logic, it doesn’t make any sense,” said the father.

Hunter’s mother, Kelly, said the family has had “no healing.”

“We do this every year, at least once. Now, this is the second appeal,” she said. Barclay

Hunter said although there are attempts to reintegrate de Grood into society, he hopes the man is not left on his own with an absolute discharge.

“Regardless of what they say, he killed five people. If that doesn’t stand on its own as a risk factor, then I don’t know what does.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2023.

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The Scotiabank Saddledome is shown with Calgary’s downtown area in the background on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. A city official says a $1.2-billion deal to replace Calgary’s aging Saddledome with a new NHL arena would come with a 35-year lease that includes a commitment from the owners of the Calgary Flames to stay in the city. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Calgary

A city official says a $1.2-billion deal to replace Calgary’s aging Saddledome with a new National Hockey League arena would come with a 35-year lease that includes a commitment from the owners of the Calgary Flames to stay in the city.

The City of Calgary, Alberta government, Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp., and Calgary Stampede reached an agreement in principle in late April.

City council’s event centre committee met this morning and asked administration some of the questions that have come up since the deal was announced.

Coun. Andre Chabot says there are concerns from some Calgarians that the lease could be terminated.

Calgary’s general manager of infrastructure services, Michael Thompson, says the city has a commitment from Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp. that it would stay in the city for the 35-year term of the lease.

No one from the company could immediately be reached for comment.

CSEC owns the Flames in the National Hockey League, the Wranglers in the American Hockey League, the Hitmen in the Western Hockey League and the National Lacrosse League’s Roughnecks.

The $1.2-billion price tag for the event centre project includes $800 million for the new arena, as well as parking, transit improvements, a new community rink and an enclosed plaza.

The Alberta government is not contributing directly to the arena, but has said it plans to fund up to $300 million on public transit and road improvements, site utilities, reclamation and other supportive infrastructure.

The province would also contribute $30 million to cover half the cost of the 1,000-seat community rink if the deal is approved by provincial cabinet and the Treasury Board before the end of summer.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2023.