Date: August 31, 2026
Reporter: Kim White
The family of Barbara Kentner is demanding answers from the Parole Board of Canada after the man convicted in her death was granted full parole, allowing him to return to the Thunder Bay community where Kentner was attacked.
Kentner’s family and supporters marched to the Parole Board of Canada’s office in Ottawa on Monday, calling for greater accountability and questioning why they were not properly consulted before the decision to release Brayden Bushby.
“Barbara was my sister, she was a mother, an aunt and a friend,” Kentner’s sister Connie said during the demonstration. “She was loved, she had a family who needed her, we still need her.”
The family says the decision has reopened painful memories of the 2017 attack and left them questioning whether the criminal justice and parole systems adequately recognize the rights and concerns of victims’ families.
Kentner was 34 when she was walking along a quiet Thunder Bay street with her sister in January 2017. Bushby, who was 18 at the time, threw a trailer hitch from a moving vehicle, striking Kentner in the abdomen.
Kentner suffered serious injuries and died several months later from complications related to the assault. Bushby was ultimately convicted of manslaughter and sentenced in 2021 to nearly eight years in prison, less time already served. The court found that his unlawful act significantly contributed to Kentner’s death.
Now, after serving part of that sentence, Bushby has been granted full parole. The decision has particularly angered Kentner’s relatives because Bushby had previously been released on day parole in 2023, only to have that release revoked the following year after the Parole Board determined that he had violated several conditions.
According to the board's earlier findings, Bushby was prohibited from consuming alcohol but failed a breathalyzer test during a traffic stop. He was also found to have failed to remain at the scene after reversing a vehicle into another car and was identified as a suspect in a car-theft investigation.
He was returned to custody in 2024. For Kentner’s family, that history raises serious questions about how the latest parole decision was reached.
Connie Kentner said the family feels it has once again been failed by a system that is supposed to recognize and respect victims of crime.
The family also says it was not adequately informed about the decision or given an opportunity to participate meaningfully in the parole process.
That concern has become a central issue in the family's demand for answers. Relatives say they should not have learned about such a significant decision through the media and argue that the parole process should have included them more directly.
Supporters who joined the family in Ottawa also connected Kentner’s death to the broader issue of violence against Indigenous women and girls in Canada.
Caludent Commanda, who supports the Kentner family, said the case illustrates the continuing trauma experienced by families after the loss of an Indigenous woman.
While Bushby is now able to live in the community under parole, Kentner’s family continues to live with the consequences of her death.
“Bushby walks free but Barbara’s family, they will continue to live a life sentence of sorrow, of sadness, of grief, of trauma,” Commanda said.
The family says the parole decision cannot be viewed only as a matter involving the offender. They argue that decisions made by the Parole Board have lasting consequences for victims and their relatives.
“As we continue to experience injustice, we have to hear the details again, we have to explain our pain again,” Connie Kentner said, adding that the board is not making its decisions in isolation because there is a family affected on the other side.
The case has also drawn attention from First Nations leaders, who have criticized the decision and called for greater accountability from the parole system.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation Deputy Grand Chief Anna Betty Achneepineskum said the family should have been properly informed and questioned whether Bushby continues to pose a risk to the community.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak has also expressed concern about the release, arguing that the decision sends a troubling message about how the justice system values the lives of First Nations women.
The Parole Board of Canada has expressed sympathy to Kentner’s family but said it cannot publicly discuss the details of individual cases.
In a statement, the board indicated that some family members may not have been aware that they needed to register with the board to receive updates about the case.
Kentner’s relatives dispute that explanation, saying some family members who had previously provided their contact information did not receive adequate communication about the parole proceedings.
Melissa Kentner, another of Barbara’s sisters who was present the night of the attack, said the family believes the board already had information that should have allowed it to contact them.
The disagreement has intensified calls for an examination of how victims and their families are notified and involved in parole decisions.
The Parole Board maintains that parole decisions include an assessment of whether an offender presents an undue risk to society if released. It also has the authority to return an offender to custody if parole conditions are violated.
For Kentner’s family, however, the issue extends beyond the technical requirements of parole. They say Barbara was a person with a family, dreams and a future that was taken away.
“My sister was a real person. She was not just a victim,” Connie Kentner said. “She had a laugh, she had dreams. She deserved to see her children grow and she deserved to be a grandmother.”
Kentner’s death has remained a deeply emotional case in Thunder Bay and among Indigenous communities across Canada. Her family has continued to speak publicly about the circumstances surrounding her death and the need for greater protection and accountability for Indigenous women.
The latest parole decision has now brought the case back into the national spotlight. The family is calling for the Parole Board to explain how the decision was reached and why they believe victims’ rights were not adequately respected during the process.
They are also seeking broader systemic changes to ensure that families of victims, particularly Indigenous women and their relatives, have a meaningful voice in parole proceedings.
As Bushby returns to the community under full parole, Kentner’s family says its own sentence of grief has never ended.
They will continue to honour Barbara’s memory while pressing Canadian authorities for answers and accountability.
For the family, the issue is not simply about the release of one offender. It is about whether the justice system can recognize the continuing impact of violent crime on victims’ families and ensure that their voices remain part of the process long after a criminal conviction has been entered.
The Kentner family says it will not allow Barbara’s name to be forgotten and will continue demanding answers about the decision that has allowed the man convicted in her death to walk free.