Indigenous leaders condemn the justice system after Robert Riley Saunders granted day parole

By Meral Jamal  Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A man who forged social worker credentials and defrauded youth under his “care,” many of whom were Indigenous, has been granted day parole for a period of six months. Robert Riley Saunders, who was handed a five-year prison sentence last July, was given the conditional release but denied full parole, according to an Oct. 10 decision from the Parole Board of Canada. The decision has outraged Indigenous leaders and victims who were defrauded by Saunders, and the First Nations Leadership Council  (FNLC) is calling for an immediate reversal of the decision. “The Parole Board acknowledged that the youth suffered as a result of the thefts, but that didn’t seem to factor significantly in its decision,” the FNLC said in a statement on Oct. 13….

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