The man convicted of murdering a Muslim family in London, Ont., is appealing his life sentence for an act deemed by a judge to be terrorism.
Nathaniel Veltman is appealing his four convictions for first-degree murder and his conviction for attempted murder, for which he was sentenced in February 2024, according to court documents.
His lawyer had already indicated he planned to file an appeal a couple of months after he was sentenced last year.
Veltman was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years for hitting the Afzaal family with his truck in 2021 while they were out for a walk in London, Ont.
Forty-six-year-old Salman Afzaal; his 44-year-old wife, Madiha Salman; their 15-year-old daughter, Yumna; and her 74-year-old grandmother, Talat Afzaal were killed in the attack.
The couple’s nine-year-old child was hurt but survived.
Justice Renee Pomerance, who presided over the trial held in Windsor, Ont., ruled the murders committed by a self-described white nationalist were an act of terrorism.
The case was the first time Canada’s terrorism laws were put before a jury in a first-degree murder trial.
Prosecutors had argued Veltman was a white supremacist with a plan to commit violence, while the defence argued his actions shouldn’t be considered terrorism because he kept his beliefs to himself.
But Pomerance rejected that argument, finding that Veltman only kept his beliefs private to avoid detection before he could carry out his plan.
At a sentencing hearing in January, Veltman apologized for the pain he had caused but that apology was rejected by the victims’ family members outside of court.
The attack on June 6, 2021 shocked the country, with a memorial held in the city and attended by leaders from across Canada.
On Friday, the four-year anniversary of the attack, Prime Minister Mark Carney remembered the victims.
“We mourn the loss today of… the Afzaal family, who four years ago this day in London were victims of a heinous act of terrorism,” Carney said.
“Gatherings like today remind us all of those who are absent. Friends and family who once prayed beside us but who no longer can. And it’s in these moments that we lean on our faith. A faith that carries us through the tough times. A faith that brings joy shining through the darkest clouds”
— with files from The Canadian Press