A fair and impartial criminal justice system is one that protects communities and respects the needs of victims while guarding against potential miscarriages of justice.
Following an extensive review, the Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, announced today that he has ordered a new trial for Mr. Roy Allan Sobotiak under the conviction review provisions of the Criminal Code.
The Minister of Justice has determined that there are reasonable grounds to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred. This is the result of the identification of new information that was not before the courts at the time of Mr. Sobotiak's trial or appeal. The Minister's decision to order a new trial is not a decision about the guilt or innocence of the applicant. It is a decision to return the matter to the courts where the new relevant legal issues may be determined according to the law.
In 1991, Mr. Sobotiak was convicted of the second-degree murder of Susan Kaminsky, who disappeared in 1987. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with no eligibility for parole for sixteen and a half years. On May 31, 1994, the Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed Mr. Sobotiak's appeal against his conviction. His application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was dismissed in 2004. In February 2021, Mr. Sobotiak applied to the Minister of Justice for a review of his conviction pursuant to s. 696.1 of the Criminal Code.
