The two assault charges filed against a member of the Saskatchewan member of the legislature have been withdrawn following mediation between the two sides.

According to a statement issued by Nadine Wilsons’ attorney, the charges were withdrawn in court after the case was referred to mediation and the mediation proved successful.

Details from the mediation will remain confidential, which is a common feature of the alternative dispute resolution process.

Wilson, who was elected in 2007, resigned from her role as provincial secretary as a result of the charges that were levied in March 2019.  According to the lawsuit, Wilson allegedly entered the apartment of her late father and his wife, 87 year old Lorraine Kingsley Helbig.  According to Kingsley Helbig’s daughter Catherine Heinz, Wilson knocked her mother into a table and assaulted Heinz’s brother.

Heinz attended the mediation and said her family had not been consulted about using ADR.  She claims they initially felt frustrated that the matter was moved out of court but she acknowledged the preparation for the mediation was healing.

Explained Heinz, “We were exhausted but we were exhilarated because we were able to get a lot of pain and suffering off our chest.”

This is often the case with mediation and Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Justice pointed out that it is one of the primary reasons mediation is so beneficial to those involved in legal disputes.  Because defendants are given a chance to make reparations and take responsibility for what they have done, and plaintiffs are able to share their feelings about a matter, mediation often proves successful.

Said Heinz, “Being able to do that gave us a voice.”