Court File and Parties
Court: COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO Date: 2024-09-09 Docket: COA-23-CR-1324
Before: Huscroft, George and Copeland JJ.A.
Between: His Majesty the King, Appellant And: Michael Woods, Respondent
Counsel: Elena Middelkamp, for the appellant Malcolm McRae, for the respondent
Heard: August 30, 2024
On appeal from: the sentence imposed by Justice Stephen Darroch of the Ontario Court of Justice on November 16, 2023.
Reasons for Decision
[1]
Overview
The respondent was convicted of trafficking a Schedule 1 substance (fentanyl) contrary to s. 5(1) the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, S.C. 1996, c. 19. He received a conditional sentence of two years less a day, with house arrest for the duration, followed by three years of probation. The Crown seeks leave to appeal sentence and, if leave is granted, asks that we allow the appeal and impose a sentence of imprisonment of 29.5 months, reflecting a sentence of 4 years less credit for time served and restrictive pre-trial bail conditions.
2The Crown does not argue that the sentencing judge erred in principle. The Crown argues that the sentence is demonstrably unfit because it is disproportionate to the gravity of the offence and the moral blameworthiness of the offender, and does not achieve the objectives of denunciation and deterrence. We do not agree.
[3]
The Sentencing Decision
The sentencing judge recognized that fentanyl is an extremely dangerous drug and that trafficking even a small quantity could result in a sentence of several years’ imprisonment. However, the respondent was not a commercial dealer. He was a friend of the deceased and, like him, was an addict. The respondent used drugs with his friends and had sold the deceased a small quantity of fentanyl for personal use.
4The sentencing judge carefully considered the relevant aggravating and mitigating circumstances. It was an aggravating factor that the fentanyl sold by the respondent had caused the death of his friend, but there were significant mitigating factors.
5The respondent had a particularly difficult life and became an opioid addict as a result of an injury. He entered an early guilty plea and was remorseful; had a positive employment history; had community and family supports; and most significantly, he had made “extraordinary” efforts at rehabilitation. The respondent had been sober since his arrest on February 24, 2022, and the sentencing judge found that he was “a strong candidate to maintain his sobriety”. Finally, the sentencing judge noted that the respondent had been subject to strict bail terms that amounted to house arrest for a period of 19 months, including residential treatment at House of Friendship, and had served 86 days on an enhanced basis following his arrest.
[6]
Analysis and Disposition
The objectives of denunciation and deterrence will typically require carceral sentences where fentanyl trafficking is concerned. However, in the unusual circumstances of this case it was open to the sentencing judge to impose a conditional sentence. The sentence was not demonstrably unfit.
7Accordingly, leave to appeal sentence is granted, but the appeal is dismissed.
“Grant Huscroft J.A.”
“J. George J.A.”
“J. Copeland J.A.”
