Brad Burgess

The accused was charged with arson endangering life and arson damaging property following a fire in his apartment.

The accused, who was found unconscious and badly burned, testified he had no memory of the event and no motive to harm himself.

The court rejected the defence of automatism due to a lack of expert evidence.

However, the court found the Crown's expert fire investigator's opinion unreliable regarding the intentional setting of the fires.

Given the lack of motive and the gaps in the expert evidence, the court concluded the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the fires were intentionally or recklessly set.

The accused was acquitted.

The offender, a 19-year-old first-time offender, pled guilty to aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, and breaching bail after a violent, unprovoked attack on his intimate partner.

The court sentenced him to 12 months in custody for the aggravated assault, focusing on denunciation and deterrence while acknowledging his rehabilitative prospects.

The court granted 1.5 days credit for pre-sentence custody, plus enhanced credit for strict house arrest bail and harsh pre-sentence detention conditions, including frequent lockdowns and isolation from family.

After applying 375 days of total credit, the offender was sentenced to 1 day in jail followed by 24 months of probation.

The offenders were convicted of multiple counts of mortgage fraud involving 11 properties and 27 mortgages over a 7-year period.

They used stolen identities, forged documents, and false powers of attorney to obtain mortgage financing, resulting in over $1 million in losses to financial institutions and the CMHC.

The court rejected a conditional sentence, emphasizing denunciation and general deterrence for large-scale frauds.

Each offender was sentenced to 4 years in a penitentiary.

The court also ordered fines in lieu of forfeiture totaling $495,535.04 and a joint and several restitution order in the same amount payable to the CMHC.