ND EP: 32 - The Cindy Gladue Case: Consent, Courtrooms, and Systemic Failure

In June 2011, Cindy Gladue, a 36-year-old Indigenous woman from the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, died in an Edmonton hotel room after suffering a catastrophic injury.

The physical facts of her death were never in dispute. What followed was a legal battle over how Canadian law defines consent, serious bodily harm, and criminal responsibility.

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Episode Notes

Primary Court Records

• Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench — R. v. Barton (2015 trial decision)
• Alberta Court of Appeal — R. v. Barton (2017)
• Supreme Court of Canada — R. v. Barton, 2019 SCC 33

Medical & Investigative Record

• Medical Examiner findings presented at trial
• Edmonton Police Service investigation records (as referenced in court decisions)

Contextual & Public Record Sources

• Supreme Court of Canada reasons addressing consent and serious bodily harm
• National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (for contextual alignment only; not a case study)