Saskatoon woman accused of abducting her child asks for stay in proceedings

A 48-year-old Saskatoon woman who’s facing nine charges — including abduction in contravention of a custody order, forging a passport, and possession of forged documents — claims her rights were violated, and her lawyers are asking for her case to be stayed.

Dawn Walker’s pickup truck was found abandoned in a park outside of Saskatoon last July, prompting an extensive search of the South Saskatchewan River and surrounding areas. Walker and her child were found two weeks later in Oregon City by American law enforcement officers and were both returned to Canada.

In a 48-page application filed in Saskatoon Provincial Court, Walker’s lawyers claim she felt she had no choice but to flee Saskatchewan, fearing for her child’s safety, and after experiencing sexual abuse and harassment.

“Ms. Walker intends to establish at trial that she fled Saskatchewan due to her honest belief that her child faced grievous imminent harm,” read the court document. “Their flight to the United States was Ms. Walker’s final, most desperate attempt in a long series of fruitless bids to seek protection from the authorities and from … ongoing sexual abuse and harm.”

Upon her return to Canada, the application alleges her Charter rights were violated, and that she was treated abysmally while in the custody of Canadian authorities, including Saskatoon police.

The application also alleges she was subjected to intimate strip searches, placed into a straitjacket at the Alouette Correctional Centre in B.C., then segregated for a day, after having a panic attack.

After being transported back to Saskatchewan, the court filing alleges Walker was taken to a jail cell at Saskatoon police headquarters with nothing but a cement bench and a toilet, and that only a single sheet was provided.

“In an attempt to maintain her dignity, Ms. Walker refused food and water to try and avoid the humiliation of having to use the toilet in view of police officers and a surveillance camera,” the application said.

It also claims that Walker asked for medical help because of her ongoing panic attacks, but she was not permitted to see a doctor.

The document alleges systemic discrimination of Indigenous women and girls that “exists across Canada, but is especially acute in Saskatchewan,” and requests documents from the B.C. Immigration Holding Centre, Alouette Correctional Centre, Saskatchewan Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, RCMP, Saskatoon police, and Saskatchewan Ministry of Social Services.

None of the allegations contained in the court application have been proven in court.

The case is scheduled to be heard in Saskatoon Provincial Court on Monday morning, when several of the parties named in the application are expected to let the judge know whether they’ve obtained legal counsel.