Family upset drunk driver sent to healing lodge
Woman who killed four people spent just a few weeks in prison
Lou and Linda Van De Vorst were dismayed to learn that the woman who wiped out four members of their family while driving drunk last winter was transferred to a federal healing lodge shortly after being sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The Van De Vorsts, whose son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren died in the Jan. 3, 2016, crash north of Saskatoon, said they learned from Correctional Service Canada (CSC) that Catherine Loye McKay was moved to the lodge about a month after her sentencing.
“I’m frustrated and angry and upset and hurt, definitely,” Lou Van De Vorst said. “It takes the focus away from the victim and puts it all on Catherine McKay. It doesn’t show any kind of consequence to her actions whatsoever.”
McKay, 49, pleaded guilty in June 2016 to four counts of impaired driving causing death in connection with the collision that killed Jordan, 34; Chanda, 33; Kamryn, five; and two-year-old Miguire Van De Vorst.
McKay, who was driving north on Wanuskewin Road at highway speed, failed to obey a stop sign, a yield sign and a caution sign before crossing the highway and plowing into the driver’s side of the Van De Vorst’s car.
Before Judge Barry Singer accepted a joint recommendation that she serve a rare but not unprecedented 10-year sentence, McKay told court the only way she can live with herself after the crash is to devote her life to preventing similar tragedies.
The Van De Vorsts said this week that while they understood McKay could be moved to a healing lodge after a stint in the penitentiary, the speed with which it happened — and the fact that she apparently receives escorted day passes — is disturbing.
CSC operates only one such facility for women on the Prairies, the 30-bed minimum- and medium-security Okimaw Ohci Healing lodge near Maple Creek. The federal agency describes the lodge as providing a “holistic and spiritual” approach to corrections based on aboriginal beliefs.
According to criminal defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle, female inmates who are unlikely to flee custody are commonly transferred to a healing lodge.
In an emailed statement, a CSC spokeswoman said offenders are placed based on factors such as their education, skills, family situation, substance abuse, ability to function in the community and personal attitude.
Offenders also receive a personalized plan, against which their progress is measured, that sets out “a risk management strategy … and outlines treatment, objectives and expected gains for rehabilitation,” the statement said.
“CSC provides a broad range of correctional programs and interventions to meet the offenders’ needs and address their risk of re-offending.”
The agency will not disclose where McKay is incarcerated. The statement said that while privacy concerns prevent CSC from discussing details of McKay’s case, it is “committed to ensuring that victims have an effective voice” in the justice system.
A Parole Board of Canada spokesman said CSC has sole authority over where inmates serve their sentences and confirmed that the board has not rendered any decisions in McKay’s case.
Meanwhile, the Van De Vorsts said “something has to be done” to ensure offenders face consequences for their actions. Lou and Linda Van De Vorst said they plan to express their concerns to CSC and Canada’s prison watchdog.
“Victims have a right to say how they feel,” Linda said.
“And how we feel right now is … basically we’re lost. We’re lost in the shuffle.”