Edmonton mayor demands urgent bail reform following LRT slaying of father of 7

Edmonton’s mayor is joining a long list of those calling for urgency in federal bail reform following several random homicides in the city, including a father of seven children.

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi sent a letter to David Lametti, the federal justice minister, outlining the city’s “urgent need for bail reform and more.”

Sohi says the City of Edmonton is doing what it can to improve public safety but that it needs Ottawa “to do the same.”

The mayor’s letter follows last weekend’s fatal stabbing outside an LRT station. The man charged with second-degree murder has a lengthy criminal history and was out on bail, according to police.

The victim was identified as 52-year-old Rukinisha Nkundabatware, a father of seven children between the ages of 14 and 27. Nkundabatware and his family immigrated to Canada in 2014 to flee the conflict and violence in the Congo.

“He was out on bail, but was supposed to be under house arrest 24 hours,” said Sohi. “But instead he was living in a tent. So really that prompts the question, ‘what happened? Why that arrangement fell apart?’

“That’s where the frustration is. The system is not working, and it’s failing Edmontonians.”

I sent a letter to Minister of Justice and Attorney General David Lametti yesterday to outline our urgent need for bail reform and more. The @CityofEdmonton is doing everything it can within its jurisdiction to improve public safety — I strongly urge the federal government to do…

— Amarjeet Sohi (@AmarjeetSohiYEG) July 14, 2023

In the mayor’s letter to Lametti, he asks for an “integrated release plan” and “necessary resources” to support reintegration into the community.

“I struggle to comprehend why someone who could be a risk to others was released into our city without a plan in place to ensure they would not reoffend,” Sohi wrote. “We must prevent these senseless tragedies from occurring in our city. I am devastated that another Edmonton family has to go through this unimaginable loss, and that seven children have to grow up without a father.

“This should have never happened.”

WATCH: Man charged with murder in fatal stabbing had lengthy criminal history: police

Sohi also referenced in his letter the slaying of an Edmonton mother and her child outside Crawford Plains elementary school in the city’s southeast in early May.

“The individual allegedly responsible was known to police, had a history of violence and had been in and out of prison for decades,” Sohi wrote.

The mayor also says the conditions were similar in the May 2022 double homicide in Chinatown, in which the accused was released in Edmonton by RCMP against parole conditions.

“The accused in this case was released into our community without support or an integrated release plan. This is a crisis that requires your immediate attention,” said Sohi.

Record high violent crimes 

Recently released data shows 2022 saw the highest number of violent crimes ever reported to Edmonton police in a single year. The force says that trend of violence continued into 2023.

“The system is failing Edmontonians and lives are being lost,” reads Sohi’s letter to Lametti. “The challenges that Edmonton is facing requires a systemic response, and the reforms needed to the criminal justice system exist in a broader community safety and wellbeing ecosystem that needs to be strengthened.”

Political leaders across the country have been discussing bail reform this year.

A bail reform bill – C-48 – was introduced by Lametti that would place a reverse onus on serious repeat violent offenders and those facing weapons charges; it would be up to the defendants to show the court why they should be released on bail instead of the Crown having to show they shouldn’t be.

The issue came up at this week’s premiers’ meeting in Winnipeg, where provincial leaders called for “urgent action” from the federal government to reform the bail system in response to concerns over crime.

The bill is still making its way through Parliament.

Bigger picture: toxic drugs, mental health

“Should we make sure that there are people unsafe to be in public need to incarcerated? Yes. But we need to do a lot more than that. This is not a solve all, this is not a fix all, this is a band-aid on a gunshot wound,” said Dan Jones, the chair of justice studies at NorQuest College.

Jones, a criminologist and former EPS inspector, says Edmonton police are seeing two-in-three violent offenders re-offend within two years of being released from prison or while on bail.

He believes bail reform will have very little impact on the overall picture of violent crime, saying the root causes need be addressed, namely toxic street drugs and the mental-health crisis.

“Jail doesn’t address that, remand for sure doesn’t address that,” said Jones. “We need to think broader, bigger, and we also need to think long term.

“I also feel bad for police right now. Because you look at the violence they’ve had to go to within the last seven days – egregious and atrocious.”

WATCH: Liberals propose bail reforms

Mayor Sohi says he also met with Alberta’s public safety minister Friday, stressing the importance of the province and federal officials working together on a bigger-picture strategy.

“Our entire safety system is not working,” said Sohi. “We are not preventing people from falling into hard times. Once they are in hard, we aren’t helping them get out of hard times. And once they have done their time and back in the community, we are not supporting them to integrate.”

Earlier this year the Alberta government vowed to help bring 50 more police officers to Edmonton. Sohi expects it will still take a year-and-a-half to train them.