July 17, 2026 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Justice Canada

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.

Today, the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, has ordered a new trial following a criminal conviction review in the case of Daniel Jolivet under the conviction review provisions of the Criminal Code. The 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.

After an in-depth review, the Minister found reasonable grounds to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred in Mr. Jolivet’s 1994 conviction. This is the result of the identification of new information that was not before the courts at the time of Mr. Jolivet’s trial or appeal. The order returns the case to the courts for the new information to be considered.

Following the preliminary assessment conducted by the Criminal Conviction Review Group, retired Justice Robert M. Mainville was assigned to complete the review of the application submitted by Mr. Jolivet.