Appeals by Alta. men convicted in Métis hunter deaths dismissed

Court of Appeal at the Edmonton Law Courts building, in Edmonton on June 28, 2019. (Jason Franson / The Canadian Press)

Appeals by the two men convicted in the deaths of a pair of Métis hunters in Alberta in 2020 will not be heard in court, justices in Edmonton decided on Monday. 

Maurice Cardinal and his nephew Jacob Sansom were moose hunting in March 2020 when they were fatally shot near Glendon, about 200 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.

Anthony Bilodeau, who fired the gun, was found guilty of manslaughter and second-degree murder. 

His father, Roger Bilodeau, who initially followed the hunters believing they were thieves and called his son to bring the gun, was found guilty on two counts of manslaughter. 

They were tried together before a judge and jury and convicted in May 2022, but submitted separate appeal applications.  

Lawyers for both men argued the trial judge failed to provide adequate instruction to the jury on various matters. In Anthony's application, his legal team also argued the judge was unfair in not allowing an expert to speak about human reaction to stress and curtailing the defence's examination of a community member who testified on their perceptions of crime in the community. 

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Three justices unanimously dismissed Anthony's application, while Roger's appeal was denied 2-1. The justices who reviewed his application disagreed how the errors identified by his lawyers affected the trial's outcome. 

Anthony was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 13 years.

Roger was sentenced 10 years in prison, minus time he served before being sentenced. He was recently granted day parole and in February was given permission to leave prison without an escort temporarily.