Ms. Bajwa

The court sentenced an offender convicted of assault with a weapon and two breaches of probation committed while under existing supervision.

The sentencing analysis addressed proportionality under ss. 718.1 and 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code, including reduced moral blameworthiness linked to FASD and accepted Indigenous ancestry, while recognizing significant public safety concerns arising from knife-related violence in a public transit setting.

The court held that denunciation and deterrence had limited but continuing force, and that a purely rehabilitative disposition was not fit given the offence gravity and limited structure in the offender’s circumstances.

A short custodial term, constrained by Indigenous and neurodevelopmental factors, followed by lengthy probation with treatment-oriented and protective conditions, was imposed.

The defendant, a maternal grandmother, was charged with assaulting her four-year-old granddaughter and breaching probation.

The Crown alleged the defendant caused visible injuries to the child on July 17, 2024, including a bruised eye, cut lip, and grab marks.

The defendant denied the allegations, attributing the child's appearance to a heat rash and claiming she had only spanked the child once.

The trial turned on the credibility of the child's testimony, which contained significant inconsistencies regarding how and when injuries were sustained.

The court found that while the child's account of prior abuse was unclear and unsupported by a FACS worker who had visited the home the day before without observing injuries, the inconsistencies in the child's narrative about the cut lip created reasonable doubt.

The defendant was acquitted on both charges.