Neil Fitzmaurice

The offender was found guilty of multiple firearms and drug possession offences following an uncontested trial.

The court considered an Enhanced Pre-Sentence Report detailing the offender's disadvantaged background, experiences with systemic racism, and poverty.

The court also weighed the extremely harsh conditions of pre-sentence custody, including extensive lockdowns and triple-bunking during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Balancing the need for denunciation and deterrence with these significant mitigating factors, the court imposed a global sentence of 6 years, less 65 months of enhanced pre-sentence credit, leaving 7 months to serve.

The accused, a high school teacher, organized and led a wilderness canoe trip for students.

During the trip, a 15-year-old student drowned while swimming without a lifejacket.

The Crown alleged that the accused's failure to follow safety guidelines, including allowing non-swimmers on the trip and permitting the student to swim without a lifejacket, constituted criminal negligence causing death.

The court found that while the accused's conduct in failing to reassess the risk at the swim site fell below the standard of care of a reasonably prudent parent, it was not a marked and substantial departure from that standard.

The accused was acquitted.