Michael Malabre was convicted following a jury trial of possessing cocaine and fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking and possessing the proceeds of crime under $5,000.
The Crown sought a penitentiary sentence of five to seven years, while the defence requested a conditional sentence of 18 to 24 months, citing pre-trial custody conditions and the effects of anti-Black racism.
The court found a conditional sentence inappropriate, imposing a sentence of four years and nine months incarceration.
The judge considered aggravating factors including the dangerous nature and quantity of drugs (fentanyl), the commercial scale of the trafficking, evidence of prior sales, and the mixing of drugs.
Mitigating factors included the offender's youth, difficult upbringing, and harsh pre-trial detention and stringent bail conditions.
The court found insufficient evidence to connect anti-Black racism to the offender's moral blameworthiness in this specific case.