Appeal court opens door for priest’s extradition
Elderly cleric sought by Scottish officials on sex charges decades ago at boys’ school
The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has cleared the way for a former Catholic priest and teacher, facing decades old physical and sexual abuse charges in Scotland, to be extradited from Canada.
In a unanimous decision, Chief Justice Robert Richards, and Justices Brian Barrington-foote and Jeff Kalmakoff dismissed Father Robert Mackenzie’s appeal of an order for surrender.
From the date of that Jan. 3 decision, Mackenzie has 30 days during which he can seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Such an appeal could, in turn, further delay his extradition.
According to court documents, the United Kingdom requested extradition of Mackenzie, now 87, to stand trial in Scotland. He consented to his committal for extradition, which does not mean that he has admitted to the allegations before him.
A Regina Court of Queen’s Bench hearing was held to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to move forward and take the case to the federal minister of justice.
It was deemed that there was, which triggered a process to determine whether the Canadian government would surrender the accused for extradition to Scotland under the Extradition Act.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada then sought Mackenzie’s surrender, and he, in turn applied for a judicial review of the minister’s March 22 order.
At an appeal hearing last month, Mackenzie’s lawyer Alan Mcintyre raised concerns the minister had not adequately accounted for his client’s poor health and “advanced age.” Mcintyre asserted the minister erred, claiming the surrender would be “unjust or oppressive.” He wanted the order set aside or that the minister be ordered to reconsider.
The minister said, “it is evident that Mr. Mackenzie is of frail health and an advanced age,” but concluded extradition to Scotland would not violate his Charter rights or the Extradition Act.
In its decision, the appeal court found, the minister had not acted unreasonably in ordering Mackenzie’s surrender.
According to previously reported information, Mackenzie faces allegations spanning 30 years — between the 1950s and 1980s — when he served as a Benedictine monk at two boys’ boarding schools.
Mcintyre has previously stated the Mackenzie, “categorically denies now, and he has denied under oath to the minister of justice, that he was involved in any sexual impropriety.”
He emigrated to Canada in the late 1980s, serving as a Roman Catholic priest in communities around Saskatchewan. He briefly served in Regina but spent many years in Cupar and the surrounding communities of Lipton and Dysart.
In 2019 the Archdiocese of Regina sent a letter to its members informing them of Mackenzie’s charges in Scotland — though they first learned of these charges in 2013 — and his order for surrender. The archdiocese has said Mackenzie is not facing any charges originating from his time in Saskatchewan.
A publication ban prevents reporting on submitted evidence of Mackenzie’s alleged offences. Until a final decision is rendered Mackenzie remains free in the community, though he is subject to release conditions.
Media in the United Kingdom have reported on abuse in the two Catholic boarding schools — Fort Augustus Abbey School and a feeder school Carlekemp — since 2013. Alleged survivors of sexual abuse there have told stories about a pedophile ring involving multiple monks and horrific abuse of students. Mackenzie worked in both and has been named in the reporting.
— With files from Heather Polischuk and Arthur White-crummey
He has denied under oath ... that he was involved in any sexual impropriety.