The family of an Indigenous woman killed in a hate-driven assault in Thunder Bay is demanding the Parole Board of Canada justify why they were not informed before the man responsible for her death was granted full parole earlier this month.
Connie and Melissa Kentner were joined by Indigenous leaders on Parliament Hill on Monday for a news conference, where they urged authorities to review the board’s decision to release Brayden Bushby. He had served five years of an eight-year sentence for the manslaughter of their sister, Barbara Kentner, in a case that drew national attention to the vulnerabilities faced by Indigenous women in Canada.
“When the parole board makes a decision like this, they are not deciding in a vacuum,” Connie Kentner told those gathered. “There is a family on the other side of that decision, which is us. There is a community on the other side of that decision, which is where we live. There are Indigenous women and girls watching. There are families who are asking themselves whether the justice system will protect them and whether their voices will matter if something happens to them.”
A family kept in the dark
Bushby was convicted of manslaughter in 2020 after earlier pleading guilty to aggravated assault for hurling a trailer hitch from a moving car at two of the Kentner sisters, striking Barbara in the stomach and rupturing her small intestine. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2021.
On 13 August, the parole board granted Bushby full parole with conditions. Media outlets were notified of the 13-page decision by email on 18 August. When contacted, Melissa Kentner said she had no knowledge he was being considered for release — let alone that he had already been freed.
She added that no one in her family was contacted by the parole board, despite having registered for victim notification. Some contact details, she noted, had not changed since 2017.
“They know our e-mails, for some of us, our cellphones haven’t changed since 2017,” Melissa said in a statement, “and still we were not invited to participate in the parole process as victims.”
The parole board did not respond to requests for comment on Monday. In its written decision, the board concluded that Bushby would not pose an undue risk to the public.
The night that changed everything
The assault occurred on the night of 29 January 2017. At the time, Bushby, a Thunder Bay resident, was intoxicated following a day of ice fishing and drinking, court heard during the trial and preliminary hearing. He and three friends drove around the city, with Bushby telling his companions he wanted to “yell at hookers.”
Melissa testified that she saw a vehicle approach them with someone leaning out of the window. She then heard someone shout, “I got one!” as the car sped off. Barbara had fallen to the ground behind her, having been struck in the stomach with a trailer hitch found nearby.
The blunt force ruptured Barbara’s small intestine, requiring emergency surgery. A forensic pathologist later determined she died of bronchopneumonia and acute chronic peritonitis — both consequences of the traumatic rupture. Barbara, a 34-year-old Anishinaabe mother, also had end-stage liver disease, which the pathologist described as a significant contributing factor but not a direct cause of death. Six months after the attack, Barbara died from her abdominal injuries.
At sentencing, Superior Court Justice Helen Pierce stated that Bushby’s actions were fuelled by a hatred of women and a disregard for their lives. Although there was no evidence Bushby knew the Kentner sisters were Indigenous that night, Pierce ruled it was proven beyond a reasonable doubt that his violence was motivated by misogyny.
“Your actions have signalled to Indigenous people across Canada that they cannot expect to be safe, and that their lives are not valued,” Pierce said.
Calls for a review
Indigenous leaders from Northern Ontario echoed the Kentner family’s call for a more thorough examination of how the parole board assesses risk in cases involving Indigenous victims.
“There has to be a review on this particular case,” said Deputy Grand Chief Anna Betty Achneepineskum of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, speaking on Monday.
In its August ruling, the board stated that “a release on full parole now will not pose undue risk and the release will contribute to the protection of society by facilitating [Bushby’s] reintegration back into society as a law-abiding citizen.”
Bushby had previously been granted day parole in 2023, allowing him to live at his mother’s home in Thunder Bay. The board revoked that release the following year after determining he had breached several conditions, including a prohibition on alcohol consumption. He failed a breathalyzer test during a traffic stop, left the scene after reversing into another vehicle, and was a suspect in a car theft investigation.
The board also flagged a new tattoo of a Confederate flag, which it said was widely associated with racist ideologies. Bushby claimed he had fallen asleep during the tattoo session and did not realise what the artist was doing. According to the decision, he also carved a swastika into the lawn of a correctional facility in August 2025.
Melissa Kentner said she no longer feels safe knowing Bushby is free — and neither do her children.
Why it Matters
The Kentner family’s anguish exposes a fault line in Canada’s justice system: the promise of victim participation has, in their experience, amounted to silence. Their demand for answers is not merely about one parole decision — it is a test of whether institutional commitments to Indigenous victims carry any weight when the people who harmed them are released back into the communities still grieving.
