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An Edmonton man is speaking publicly for the first time since his ex-wife was convicted last week of the attempted murder of their three children.
CTV News Edmonton is not identifying the person to protect the identity of the children.
The woman, a soldier, opened fire in the basement of her home at CFB Edmonton in 2015 while she and her three children were inside.
He was found guilty of three counts of attempt to murder and two counts of arson.
Her ex-husband, who was also in the military at the time of the fire, was helping fight wildfires in Saskatchewan when the fire broke out at CFB Edmonton.
“It’s tough. Especially when my kids tell me, they say, ‘We showed him the basement was on fire and he gathered us upstairs,'” the children’s father said Friday.
The man says he and his ex were involved in a custody battle, and a social worker expressed concern for the children’s safety days before the fire.
“None of these people did anything to stop my ex-wife from setting the house on fire in an attempt to kill my children.”
In 2016, he says that investigators from the military police told him that the case was being closed.
“The report said they couldn’t prove it, they said it was either her or my kids who started the fire.”
He says he was horrified because the fire had been intentionally set, yet his ex-wife was allowed three unsupervised visits with the children.
“For four years I was trying to save my children before I got arrested.”
She filed a lawsuit against her ex in 2018 for what she says is the only way to access reports on the fire that were done by the insurance company.
“I came to the conclusion that if I didn’t get a bunch of evidence against him and take it to the Crown, nobody was going to do anything for me.”
He believes that his ex-wife’s apparent suicide letter, mailed with a large amount of cash, is what led to the charges against him.
“He must have had uncontrolled access and if I ever see him again I will probably go mad with worry.”
The man has lodged two complaints with the Canadian Armed Forces regarding the conduct of the investigation, and has said he intends to pursue further legal action.
“I hope this discourages them from doing it again. The whole reason I filed the complaint is that I don’t want anyone else to go through what I did.”
On Friday, a representative for the Canadian Armed Forces said that each case assigned to the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) varies in completion time.
“In all cases, investigations are conducted to determine facts, analyze evidence and, where appropriate, lay charges,” the representative said. “Particularly in this investigation, allegations were made by CFNIS and after trial, the accused was found guilty on all counts.”
The man says his kids are fine, and he is now waiting for his ex-wife to be sentenced.
He is currently under house arrest till the hearing.
“This woman is free. She’s on house arrest, but what she did was malicious. She did it out of hatred. I guarantee that hatred won’t go away. That hatred is probably growing. I’m glad she’s not Know where we live.”
The Department of Defense said the man is still a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, but the release process has begun.
With files from Amanda Anderson of CTV News Edmonton.