R. Butler

The offender, an Indigenous man and survivor of the 'Indian Day School' system, was found guilty of four counts of sexual interference against an 11-to-13-year-old child.

The court weighed the paramount principles of denunciation and deterrence for child sexual offences against the offender's profound history of trauma, abuse, and systemic racism.

A sentence of 3 years in jail was imposed, along with ancillary orders, reflecting a significant reduction from the Crown's proposed range due to Gladue factors.

The accused pleaded guilty to criminal harassment, assault, and mischief in a domestic context.

At the time of the offences, the accused was on probation from a prior conditional discharge.

The court reviewed the law on the use of a prior conditional discharge in sentencing, concluding that while the accused is technically a first-time offender, the prior discharge and the fact that the accused was on probation are relevant to deterrence and rehabilitation.

The court accepted the joint submission of 11 days' pre-trial custody and probation.

The moving party sought an order dismissing relief requested in a notice of hearing for directions and a declaration that the court lacked jurisdiction to continue a reference arising from a judgment for sale under the Partition Act.

The original judgment ordered the sale of jointly owned properties under the direction of a referee, with proceeds to be paid into court.

The applicant in the original proceeding later privately sold its ownership interest without complying with the judgment for sale and without paying proceeds into court.

The court held that the judgment for sale was the sole jurisdictional basis for the reference and had become unenforceable due to the private sale.

As a result, the reference master lacked jurisdiction to continue the reference.

The accused pleaded guilty to possessing prohibited firearms and ammunition after police discovered the weapons during a search warrant execution related to their tobacco business.

The accused had purchased the firearms for protection after receiving serious threats.

The Crown proceeded summarily and sought a one-year custodial sentence, while the defence sought a suspended sentence or intermittent custody based on the accused's exemplary backgrounds and extensive community service.

The court imposed a 60-day intermittent sentence for each accused, followed by 18 months of probation requiring 240 hours of community service, balancing the need for denunciation with the offenders' significant moral credit for past good deeds.