Fort Chipewyan man accused of destroying church acquitted of arson

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A Fort Chipewyan man accused of burning the community’s Catholic church in 2022 has been acquitted of arson after a four-day trial in Fort McMurray Court of King’s Bench.

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After Justice Allison Kuntz said he was free to go, August Tanner Marcel shook the hands of his lawyer and the Crown prosecutor, then excitedly ran out of the Fort McMurray courtroom.

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“I assume he’s relieved,” said Marcel’s lawyer, Graham Johnson. “This was a very difficult case for the Crown. There was not strong evidence, in my view.”

Marcel was charged with arson following the destruction of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Roman Catholic Church during the early morning hours of Aug. 25.

A tanker and squad truck with the fire department responded to the fire after it was reported at 2:34 a.m., but a pumper truck rolled on its way to the scene. The driver was treated for minor injuries. When police and firefighters arrived, the flames had completely engulfed the church and the building could not be saved.

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Marcel surrendered to police on Oct. 24 when a warrant for his arrest was issued. His trial began on April 29 and was to run until May 3.

“In order to obtain a conviction, the Crown must establish the elements of the offense. In light of the evidence provided throughout the trial, the Crown was unable to establish the essential element,” said Crown prosecutor John Bierman.

“When it comes down to it, at every point we have to assess reasonable likelihood of conviction in the public interest and in this case, we couldn’t get there,” added Crown prosecutor Corinna Stevens.

A second man, Raymond Ahyasou-Cardinal was also charged with arson around the same time. Charges against Ahyasou-Cardinal were stayed in March. This means the Crown has one year to recommence charges and resume trial, or the matter will be considered closed.

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After Marcel and Ahyasou-Cardinal were charged, the residence that housed priests and nuns was also destroyed in a fire on Oct. 30. No charges have been issued related to that fire.

In both instances, no one was inside the buildings when they were destroyed. Fort Chipewyan does not have a full-time Catholic priest living in the community and is served by priests based in Fort McMurray.

At the time of the fire, the church had been sold to a Christian charity called King’s Kids Promotions Outreach Ministries in Dec. 2020. The Catholic diocese for the region could no longer afford to maintain the church as attendance rates plummeted.

The charity allowed priests to use the church for funerals, weddings and baptisms. Some community leaders wanted to preserve the church, which was was built in 1909. The church was designated an Alberta heritage site in 1998 and a national historic place in 2006.

Both buildings were on the same grounds of the Holy Angels Residential School, which was demolished in 1974. An archaeological team from the University of Alberta is searching the former residential school grounds for potential unmarked graves.

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vmcdermott@postmedia.com

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