Alberta Teachers’ Association cancels murderer’s presentation at convention

The Alberta Teachers’ EDMONTON Association has cancelled the scheduled appearance at its upcoming convention by a man who murdered a woman in Vancouver in 2007.

Andrew Evans was found guilty in 2009 of beating and strangling Nicole Parisien after he flew into a “blind rage” over his inability to get an erection. He was sentenced to life without parole for 10 years, but he won day parole three years early, in 2014. Today, he works as a quality assurance co-ordinator at the Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre.

The Calgary City Teachers’ Convention, scheduled for Feb. 14 and 15, had billed Evans as someone familiar with the struggles of addiction, and said his “message is one of hope,” having “the lived experience of active addiction and active recovery.” He had been scheduled to speak at a session on adolescent addiction alongside Calgary police Const. Andrew Morton.

But late Wednesday, Greg Jeffery, the president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, posted to Twitter that the appearance was being cancelled.

“After reviewing concerns shared about Andy Evans speaking at Calgary Teachers’ Convention, I have consulted with @CCTCA organizers and we will be cancelling AARC’s session,” Jeffery wrote “I sincerely regret the impact this has had on survivors, victims and their supporters.”

Jonathan Teghtmeyer, a spokesman for the Alberta Teachers’ Association, which organized the convention, earlier said there had been few complaints from teachers, though they had received backlash from the public.

“Teachers are smart and thoughtful professionals capable of examining contentious issues and sensitive topics with critical thought,” the Alberta Teachers’ Association said in a statement earlier Wednesday. “By sharing this story with teachers, it is hoped that lives can be saved and other tragedies can be prevented.”

The statement added that the organization does not “shy away from scheduling controversial sessions.”

But Teghtmeyer said this session, one of more than 600 over two days, was organized by the Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre, and he suggested the teachers’ association didn’t previously know about Evans’ past.

“I don’t think the organizers were fully aware,” Teghtmeyer said, noting that Evans’s bio would be updated to include his conviction.

In August 2007, Evans had a few beers and “six or seven tokes of marijuana” at home, then a couple shots of hard liquor at a friend’s place — plus some ecstasy — and seven more beers at the Roxy nightclub. After that, he headed home, according to court documents.

He stopped for cigarettes, and, seeing there was internet access in the shop, found some sex workers on Craigslist and made appointments to see two of them. Parisien’s place was nearby. Upon arrival, he handed over $200.

“Despite several attempts at various kinds of sexual activity, Mr. Evans was not able to get an erection,” the court ruling says. “Mr. Evans said he recalled becoming extremely frustrated and angry. He described going into a blind rage. He could not recall whether he first began choking or hitting her, but he recalled doing both.”

The ruling says Evans remembered hitting her 10 or 15 times; the autopsy found she’d been choked to death. Upon realizing he’d killed her, Evans panicked, gathering up anything he’d touched in the apartment, and wrapped her body in a bed sheet.

He dragged her body down five flights of stairs and dumped her in the bushes.

He was spotted by a tenant, who phoned the police. Meanwhile, Evans had gone home, packed a bag, bought a Greyhound ticket and fled to Calgary, where he confessed to his parents and then turned himself in to police.

He was found guilty of seconddegree murder in October 2009.

Few details have been reported about Parisien. The Victoria Times Colonist reported that Parisien’s family had long denied she was working in the sex industry. Postmedia was unable to reach the family for comment before deadline.

Evans did not respond to multiple requests for comment. A call to the Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre went unreturned.

A spokesperson for David Eggen, Alberta’s minister of education, said the government would not be weighing in, referring queries to the teachers’ association.

In a statement, the Calgary Police Service said “speakers like Andy Evans help ... demonstrate that addictions can contribute to immense tragedy and loss, as well as irreversible consequences for the addict and the community.”

Amber Meow, a sex worker who was encouraging people online to reach out to the convention organizers with their concerns, told Postmedia in an email that society values the life of a murderer more than an “undesirable” victim.

“This shows how little our lives matter to society and how much more they value the life of murderers than they do the victims, if the victim is seen as an ‘undesirable.’ ”