Government 'dragging their feet' in compensation talks, says man wrongfully convicted in 1973 Winnipeg murder

It's been over 50 years since Brian Anderson was convicted of a murder he didn't commit, almost two since his name was finally cleared and about 14 months since he sued in hopes of getting compensated for everything he lost — but after all that time, he says he's still waiting for that compensation from all three levels of government.

"They were quick to convict, but when it's time to find it the other way around, [they're] dragging their feet," Anderson said in an interview with his daughter at their home in Selkirk, Man.

Anderson was one of four young men from Pinaymootang First Nation in Manitoba's Interlake area convicted in the 1973 killing of Ting Fong Chan. Chan, a 40-year-old father of two, was stabbed and beaten to death near a downtown Winnipeg construction site as he walked home after a shift at the Beachcomber restaurant.

Anderson, Allan Woodhouse and brothers Clarence and Russell Woodhouse were rounded up by police largely because of eyewitness accounts following Chan's killing that mentioned Indigenous people.

All four ended up convicted in Chan's death based mostly on confessions in fluent English that police said they got from the young men — even though some of them barely spoke the language, and all said they had been forced or tricked into signing the admissions of guilt by officers who assaulted them.

The case was prosecuted by George Dangerfield, who was the Crown attorney in four other wrongful conviction cases.

Though concerns about the men's innocence were raised early on, it took until July 2023 before Anderson and Allan Woodhouse were finally exonerated, and until October 2024 for Clarence Woodhouse. Efforts to posthumously exonerate Russell Woodhouse, who died in 2011, are ongoing.

The three surviving men have since filed lawsuits seeking compensation from all three levels of government, who have denied fault in statements of defence. The compensation case is scheduled to be back in court for mediation later this month, with trial dates set for 2027.

Clarence Woodhouse, who filed his lawsuit in February, said though he's not as concerned about how long things are taking, being compensated for his wrongful conviction would mean a lot to him.

"I'm just waiting," said Woodhouse, now 73.

He hopes to eventually use compensation money to move out of his son's home and get his own place.

"I always wanted to … buy a house somewhere."

Meanwhile, Anderson said while it was "nice to hear" acknowledgments of his innocence and of the racism that marred everything from the police investigation to the men's trial, he feels he's had to go from proving he didn't kill anyone to proving he should be compensated for the time he lost, before he can truly move on with his life.

"They can say whatever they want," said Anderson, who spent about a decade in prison and was on parole from the 1980s until 2023. "The main thing here is that we want justice too, but we haven't seen it. It's talked about, but where is it?"

Anderson also hopes any compensation money will help him get his own place and move out of his daughter's house. After getting out on parole, he said he struggled for years to find anything more than low-paying "dead-end" jobs when potential employers learned he'd been in prison, despite getting his Grade 12 education and a welding certificate.

'Everybody's pointing the finger'

Anderson's daughter — who's played the role of his advocate, communicating with lawyers and setting up meetings for the last number of years — said she fears what might happen if discussions keep dragging out.

Her dad recently turned 70.

"I can't help but feel like they're just trying to prolong and delay to the point where they don't have to give anything. I can't help but feel like they're waiting for these men to pass, and that's such an awful thing to say, but in my heart I feel like that's what's happening," Whitney Anderson said.

"Everybody's pointing the finger at each other, and nobody's wanting to take accountability for their side."

She said she knows how much of a role systemic racism played in sending her dad to prison and keeping him from clearing his name for so long, and she feels it's also a factor in why his compensation talks are taking so long.

Spokespeople for the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba's justice minister and the federal justice department would not comment on the case. Winnipeg police said they had no update on their investigation into who killed Chan in 1973.

As for Anderson, he hopes to see his case dealt with so he can finally get on with his life — and soon.

"I know I'm not going to live forever, but I want to see this," Anderson said. "I want to see this done with."

Man wrongfully convicted of murder still waiting for payout

22 days ago

Duration 2:18

It's been more than 50 years since Brian Anderson was convicted of a murder he didn't commit, and almost two since his name was finally cleared. He sued more than a year ago in hopes of getting compensation — but he is still waiting.