K. Jokinen

The offender pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking in fentanyl and two counts of using a forged document.

She participated in a scheme where she used fraudulent prescriptions to obtain fentanyl patches from a pharmacy, which she then gave to a co-conspirator for financial gain.

The court considered the extreme danger of fentanyl, the offender's role as a low-level participant, her guilty plea, and her status as a first-time offender.

The court sentenced the offender to 26 months in jail concurrent on all counts, emphasizing denunciation and deterrence.

The accused was charged with three counts of trafficking Fentanyl and three counts of using a forged document.

The charges arose from a scheme where a medical secretary created fake electronic prescriptions for Fentanyl, which were then filled at pharmacies and sold on the street.

The Crown alleged the accused used his own health card information to fill fraudulent prescriptions in his name.

The accused, representing himself, denied involvement and claimed his wallet had been lost.

The court applied the W.(D.) framework and Vetrovec principles to assess credibility, ultimately rejecting the accused's evidence and accepting the testimony of a co-conspirator.

The accused was found guilty on all six counts.

The accused pleaded guilty to three counts of drug trafficking involving fentanyl and buprenorphine.

The court considered a joint sentencing submission recommending a global sentence of four years and one and a half months, with significant credit for pre-trial custody leaving a custodial term of two years less a day.

The sentencing judge reviewed the offender’s Gladue report detailing Indigenous background factors, intergenerational residential school trauma, addiction issues, and mental health challenges.

The court emphasized that Gladue principles must inform sentencing while recognizing the seriousness of fentanyl trafficking and the offender’s prior criminal record.

The joint submission was accepted and ancillary orders including a DNA order and lifetime weapons prohibition were imposed.

During a criminal trial for possession of cocaine and possession for the purpose of trafficking under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the court ruled on the admissibility of police surveillance observations and text messages retrieved from the accused’s cell phone.

The defence argued that surveillance evidence of alleged hand‑to‑hand drug transactions constituted impermissible prior discreditable conduct and that a police officer should not be permitted to give opinion evidence.

The court held the surveillance evidence was directly relevant circumstantial evidence relating to possession on the charged date and permitted the officer to provide lay opinion evidence based on observations under the principles from R v Graat.

The court also addressed the admissibility of text messages allegedly using coded language related to drug transactions.

Messages from approximately six weeks prior were excluded due to their prejudicial effect, while messages from the day before and the day of the alleged offence were admitted subject to proof of electronic record integrity under the Canada Evidence Act.