Justice minister Sean Fraser found reasonable grounds to suggest a potential miscarriage of justice
Daniel Jolivet, who was convicted of four murders in 1994, is set to get a new trial after a comprehensive criminal review found that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred.
Justice minister and attorney general Sean Fraser said the review was conducted under the Criminal Code’s conviction review provisions. In the process, new information came to light that was not presented to the courts during Jolivet’s trial or appeal.
The Criminal Conviction Review Group conducted the preliminary assessment, and retired justice Robert M. Mainville finished the review of Jolivet’s application.
“As minister of justice, I have the authority under the Criminal Code to order a new trial or appeal when new evidence shows a miscarriage of justice likely occurred. My decision does not decide guilt or innocence, as that will rest with the courts,” Fraser said in a statement released on Friday July 17. “Our responsibility is to make sure Canadians can trust their justice system, and that means, in rare cases, returning cases to the courts for new information to be considered.”
The Quebec Crown prosecutor's office will examine the evidence before deciding on whether the case will proceed.
Jolivet had been incarcerated for 33 years before his release on bail in December 2025 pending the result of the federal review, according to CBC. He had been convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder after he supposedly shot two men and two women in the Montreal suburb of Brossard in 1992.
Jolivet insisted he was innocent and once had his verdict overturned on appeal, but the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the conviction in 2000. His attempts to have the justice minister assess his case were rejected until last year.
In October 2025, Fraser concluded that there were reasonable grounds to suggest a potential miscarriage of justice in the case. Thus, Jolivet was able to seek bail.
“For the victim of a miscarriage of justice, it is very important to hear the words 'acquittal' or 'you are acquitted,' because these people have been fighting all their life,” said Nicholas St-Jacques, Jolivet’s lawyer, in a statement published by CBC.
St-Jacques added that Jolivet wanted it to be made public that he was innocent of the crime. Jolivet also expressed hope that the Crown prosecutor's office would proceed with the case instead of dropping the charges.
Last September 2025, Fraser also ordered an appeal in the Russell Woodhouse manslaughter case - the first time a Criminal Code-based remedy has resulted from a post-mortem conviction review - in light of new information.
