Convicted murderer Colin Thatcher, a former Saskatchewan MLA and cabinet minister, has been granted day parole.
INDEPTH: INDEPTH: Colin Thatcher
Thatcher will be released to a halfway house in Regina, where he will have the freedom to come and go during the day. As well, he has been given privileges for overnight leaves.
The National Parole Board found that Thatcher, 67, will present minimal risk to the community when he's released.
Among the conditions of his day parole, Thatcher must report any romantic relationships with his parole officer and must continue counselling.
During the hearing, Thatcher told the parole board that if he was to go back to the community he would be a productive member of society.
"You will never regret this decision," he said. "I will never embarrass you."
The decision comes two months after Thatcher was allowed to have unescorted visits with his children.
He has spent more than 21 years in prison for the 1983 murder of his ex-wife, JoAnn Wilson, in Regina. He has always denied killing her, or hiring someone to kill her.
Wilson's body was found in the garage of her Regina home on Jan. 21, 1983. The 43-year-old woman had been bludgeoned 47 times with a sharp instrument before being shot in the head.
Thatcher was a member of the Saskatchewan legislature who had resigned as the Conservative energy minister four days before Wilson died.
For four years leading up to the murder, Wilson and Thatcher had been involved in a bitter struggle over the terms of their divorce and child-custody agreement