Alberta man guilty of manslaughter in deaths of Métis hunters sentenced to 10 years

One of the two men involved in the deaths of two Métis hunters in rural Alberta in 2020 was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday.

Roger Bilodeau, 58, was found guilty of manslaughter in the deaths of Jacob Sansom and Maurice Cardinal in May.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, minus 1,624 days of time spent in pre-sentencing custody, which amounts to about 4.5 years.

Bilodeau received the credit after COVID-19 restrictions at Edmonton Remand Centre saw him spend two hours or less outside his cell for 415 days.

He told court he "made a poor judgment" and that he's "sincerely sorry for my actions."

His son, 33-year-old Anthony Bilodeau, was found guilty of manslaughter in Sansom's death and second-degree murder in Cardinal's.

Anthony Bilodeau listened to the impact statements virtually on Friday, but his sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 17.

Several family members of Sansom and his uncle Cardinal gave impact statements before the sentencing, recounting the mental and physical hardships they've faced since they were murdered.

Sansom's mother, who is also Cardinal's sister, said she has a big void in her heart and that she's been living in a nightmare she can't wake up from.

"You selfishly took two lives that mattered to their loved ones," she said to the Bilodeaus.

"You took away two special people from us."