Montreal McGill Controversy Continues: Paroled Killer Ewert Back in Custody, Reason Not Disclosed

The McGill law school controversy over a paroled offender attending classes has a new development. Correctional Service Canada (CSC) confirmed Saturday that a suspension warrant had been issued for Jeffrey George Ewert, who was picked up Friday and returned to custody “while a more thorough assessment of the situation is being conducted.” The agency did not say which release condition was allegedly breached, citing privacy law for withholding the circumstances of the suspension.

Background of the case

Ewert is serving two life sentences for second-degree murder and attempted murder in attacks on two women in British Columbia in 1984: one woman was killed, and a girl who was 15 at the time was left severely disabled and has never been able to live independently. After more than four decades in prison, he was granted day parole in 2025 and began attending law classes and faculty events at McGill University in Montreal this August, sparking opposing student and faculty petitions and a campus dispute that continues; according to McGill's provost, he had not been on campus since early October.

Release conditions and what happens next

His parole had been extended for another six months in June 2026. Clinical assessments in his parole file rated his risk of reoffending as moderate to high, but judged that with close supervision at a halfway house and clinical follow-up, the risk “seems to fall more into the moderate risk category.” CSC says it may suspend conditional release when there are reasonable grounds to believe an offender has breached a condition or that the risk they present can no longer be safely managed in the community. CSC will now complete its assessment before deciding whether to restore his community release; McGill, bound by privacy law on individual student records, has said nothing further.