Manitoba pays $4M to men wrongfully convicted in 1973 killing: financial document | CBC News

Update comes after Winnipeg city council approved total $7M payment toward settlement

The Manitoba government paid $4 million each to three First Nations men who were wrongfully convicted in a Winnipeg murder more than 50 years ago, a recently released financial document says.

Brian Anderson, Allan Woodhouse and Clarence Woodhouse were convicted in the 1973 killing of Ting Fong Chan, a 40-year-old father of two who was stabbed and beaten to death near a downtown Winnipeg construction site as he walked home one night after his shift at the Beachcomber restaurant.

Though concerns about the men's innocence were raised early on, it took decades for their names to be cleared: Anderson and Allan Woodhouse in 2023 and Clarence Woodhouse in 2024.

The judge who exonerated them said the case was "infected" by systemic racism, from the police investigation to the trial.

The update on the province's payment to the men was revealed in the Manitoba's government's most recent list of vendor payments over $50,000.

It comes after the City of Winnipeg announced last year that it was proposing a $7-million payment toward a global settlement to compensate the three men. Council later agreed with that recommendation.

Spokesperson David Driedger said the city moved "as quickly as possible" to conclude the settlement proceedings and hopes it "brings some closure to" the people involved.

"We cannot speak to the specifics of the global settlement beyond what was previously shared with Council," Driedger said in an email.

The men's lawsuits also included the federal government. However, it's still unclear what Ottawa paid.

"To respect the confidentiality provisions of the settlement agreement, the Department of Justice Canada will not be providing specific figures," a spokesperson said.

He died a convicted killer. Now, Russell Woodhouse's family wants his name cleared in 1973 homicide