ONTARIO COURT OF JUSTICE
COURT FILE No.: 24-48111676 25-50019991
Toronto Region
BETWEEN:
HIS MAJESTY THE KING
— AND —
Chimar PHILLIPS-CAMPBELL
Before Justice Cidalia C.G. Faria
Heard on March 4, 2025, and February 20, 2026
Reasons for Sentencing released on March 24, 2026
Anna Gilmer, and James Dunda counsel for the Crown
Jaskaran Wadera…………counsel for the accused Chimar PHILLIPS-CAMPBELL
1After a Preliminary Hearing heard on February 18 and 19, 2025, Mr. Phillips-Campbell pled guilty before me on March 4, 2025, to possessing a loaded firearm, and carrying a concealed weapon on April 5, and 6, 2024 contrary to ss. 95 and 90(1) of the Criminal Code.
2I released Mr. Phillips-Campbell on a strict house-arrest bail with GPS monitoring, anticipating a Morris1 report, and providing Mr. Philips-Campbell with the opportunity to take rehabilitative steps so he could advocate that a conditional sentence is appropriate in the circumstances.
3That is not what happened. On February 20, 2026, Mr. Phillips-Campbell appeared before me in-custody, with no Morris report, and pled guilty to a failure to comply with his release order contrary to s. 145(5)(a).
4These are my reasons for sentence on all three charges.
Facts
5On Friday April 5, 2024, Mr. Phillips-Campbell, who was 18 years old at the time, met up with a man nicknamed Sosa, and two young girls. One was 16 years old, and the other was 14 years old. The four travelled together from Scarborough to downtown Toronto. They were at the Eaton Centre and then attended a residential condo on Yonge Street.
6At the condo, Mr. Phillips-Campbell had a fanny back he had been wearing around his waist and under his clothing all day. He pulled out a black and silver handgun with a magazine loaded with ammunition and showed it to both of the young girls.
7As the evening progressed, the 16-year-old girl decided to head home, and the 14-year-old girl decided to stay with Mr. Phillips-Campbell and Sosa. The three travelled back to Scarbrough on public transit. The 14-year-old girl went to Mr. Phillips-Campbell’s apartment.
8Residing with Mr. Phillips-Campbell were his siblings ranging in age from 1 to 16 years old, as well as his mother and stepfather.
9Again Mr. Phillips-Campbell took out the firearm in the apartment. This time he removed a round of ammunition from the chamber and removed the magazine.
10Meanwhile the young girl’s mother had received disturbing messages from her daughter. An extensive investigation took place to find her. On Saturday April 6, 2024, the Toronto Police Emergency Task Force entered Mr. Phillips-Campbell’s apartment and located the 14-year-old girl. Mr. Phillips-Campbell’s siblings were in the home as well.
11Mr. Phillips-Campbell was arrested. The apartment was secured pending a search warrant. During the execution of the warrant, the handgun was found in a fanny pack in Mr. Phillips-Campbell’s bedroom. There were 7 rounds of ammunition in the magazine, and one loose round in the fanny pack.
12Mr. Phillips-Campbell was on a youth undertaking release at the time with a condition not to possess a weapon.
13After the Preliminary Hearing, Mr. Phillips-Campbell was released on a house arrest bail with exceptions. He was required to wear a GPS ankle bracelet. He returned on March 4, 2025, to plead guilty. On October 30, 2025, he breached that bail by removing the ankle bracelet and failing to remain in his home.
14He was located in North Bay on December 5, 2025, and arrested.
Chimar Phillips-Campbell
15Mr. Phillips-Campbell was 19 years old when he committed the offences. . He is only 20 years old today. He has no criminal record.
16Mr. Phillips-Campbell was born and raised in Toronto. His mother is of Guyanese and West Indian descent, and his father is originally from St. Vincent. Mr. Phillips-Campbell is the eldest of seven children. He was raised in a single parent household led by his mother, Ms. Palmer, a nurse, and lives with his younger half siblings. She has struggled financially but always been able to provide the necessities. Both mother and son describe their relationship as a good one. Mr. Phillips-Campbell appreciates how hard Ms. Palmer works to support the family.
17Mr. Phillips-Campbell has had little contact with his father or two half-siblings on that side. His parents separated before he was born because his father was physically abusive to his mother. His mother has been involved with his stepfather for about 10 years, and they got married about 3 years ago. Mr. Phillips-Campbell’s relationship with his stepfather is “alright”.
18Mr. Phillips-Campbell has a large extended family and is particularly close to his maternal grandparents who helped care for him and his siblings when he was a child while his mother was working.
19Mr. Phillips-Campbell describes his current neighbourhood as better than his previous one, namely Swansea Mews in Toronto’s West End. He saw criminal activity such as fights, drug deals, and shootings while growing up. He said that when in the neighbourhood he did not experience racism and discrimination but did so when not in his neighbourhood. His mother described regular experiences of discrimination in both the community and the school. She said her children were bullied for living in government housing at the time and she had to intervene. Ms. Palmer said Mr. Phillips-Campbell has shared with her that he has experienced racism, but Mr. Phillips-Campbell declined to elaborate on the issue.
20Mr. Phillips-Campbell stated he has a group of 4 or 5 close friends. He recognizes these friends have not “led him in the right direction” and around grade 10 or 11 he “made a turn”. His mother confirms that timing. These friends seem to be the “missing piece” for Mr. Phillips-Campbell because “his dad was not really there”. Mr. Phillips-Campbell was still loyal to these friends at the time of his Pre-Sentence Report (PSR) and did not plan on giving up those friendships. Ms. Palmer has serious safety concerns about these friends. She does not want them in her home, nor even near her nor her children.
21Mr. Phillips-Campbell has not completed high school. He was expelled in grade 10 for fighting and then did not complete a subsequent alternative school program. He was also suspended two or three times in elementary school. He does remember getting along with teachers, earning numerous monthly positive behavioural awards and playing sports. Notably he was an excellent basketball player and played competitively in both elementary and high school. Unfortunately, he had to stop playing in grade 11 because of the financial cost of travelling.
22While in high school Mr. Phillips-Campbell worked two summers in demolition. He does hope to complete high school and then work in the trades. He has worked in a grocery store and in a local high school. He is unemployed and supported financially by his mother.
23Mr. Phillips-Campbell denied drinking much alcohol or using drugs, however, prior to these offences it is noted he was using cannabis daily.
24When speaking to the PSR author, Mr. Phillips-Campbell took full responsibility for the offences. He expressed serious regret, and remorse. He stated he found the firearm and thought it “cool” to have though he had no intention to use it. He admitted he knew people who had been killed by gun violence, including several close friends over the years. He believes he must “just thug it out” to deal with the grief. He believes there is a possibility he too could be hurt for associating with his friends, and admits he has conflicts in the community but believes he can “handle” himself and ask his friends to “keep him out” of it.
25While in custody Mr. Phillips-Campbell was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He has experienced bad nightmares about what he has seen. He was prescribed three medications while in custody, but he stopped taking them once he was released on bail. This too is a challenge that Mr. Phillips-Campbell would rather figure out on his own.
26He recognizes he has issues with anger management and voluntarily participated in a program called Brighter Dayzz, run by the Community Reintegration Organization which he found helpful. Via Ms. Palmer, the PSR discloses that incarceration has been very difficult for Mr. Phillips-Campbell both in terms of physical violence and mental health deterioration.
Legal Principles
27Sections 718 to 718.2 of the Criminal Code guide sentencing judges with the complex task of sentencing.
28Every sentence must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the offender (s. 718.1).
29The sanction imposed should have one or more of the following objectives (s. 718):
- to denounce unlawful conduct;
- to deter the offender and other persons from committing offences;
- to separate offenders from society, where necessary;
- to assist in rehabilitating offenders;
- to provide reparations for harm done to victims or to the community;
- to promote a sense of responsibility in offenders and acknowledgment of the harm done to victims and to the community.
30Sentences for similar offences committed by similar offenders should receive similar sentences (s. 718.2(b)). Aggravating and mitigating factors relating to the circumstances of the offences and the offender must be considered (s. 718.2(a)).
Analysis
31The aggravating factors in this case are obvious and serious:
i. Mr. Phillips-Campbell took his loaded firearm on a city tour of Toronto. He had it with him at the Eaton Centre downtown, on Yonge Street as he walked, in a private condo residence, and on public transit where residents of Toronto were on their way to and from where they needed to go.
ii. He showed off the firearm to two young girls, a 16-year-old and a 14-year-old. This created a very dangerous situation where the firearm could have inadvertently fired. The bravado of showing off such a dangerous loaded weapon reinforces the myth that firearms are “cool” when, in fact, they should be far from glamourized in this way.
iii. He left the loaded firearm in his apartment where his young siblings reside.
iv. He stored the firearm carelessly and in an easily accessible manner, in a fanny pack in his room.
v. Not only were there numerous rounds in the magazine, but there was also a round in the chamber.
vi. He was on a youth undertaking not to possess a weapon at the time.
32The mitigating factors:
i. After a Preliminary Hearing, Mr. Phillips-Campbell pled guilty. Although it was not at the earliest opportunity, it certainly obviated the young witness from having to testify again at trial, and it saved significant resources in the criminal justice system.
ii. The guilty plea demonstrates accountability and remorse.
iii. He has been employed in the past and shows an interest in the demolition trade.
iv. He has no criminal record.
v. While he was in custody, before his release on bail, he completed a Certificate of Achievement for anger management.
vi. He is dealing with a mental diagnosis which requires medication.
33I am mindful that Mr. Phillips-Campbell did not brandish the firearm, nor use it in an intimidating fashion. His possession of the firearm is also not associated with any drug activity and was never in a motor vehicle.
34Although there was no Impact of Race and Culture (IRCA) Report completed, the PSR was sufficiently detailed and focused to provide information I can and do consider under the Morris umbrella of social context evidence that impacted Mr. Phillips-Campbell’s involvement with these offences.
35Mr. Phillips-Campbell was clearly negatively impacted by anti-Black racism while growing up in a marginalized community. I note the following:
i. Mr. Phillips-Campbell was raised in a single parent home led by his mother, and the absence of his father negatively impacted him.
ii. Although he was provided the necessities, financial struggle was part of his environment, and he was in public housing for a significant period of time. He had to quit participating in basketball though he was a talented player because of financial constraints
iii. Mr. Phillips-Campbell has limited education.
iv. He was raised in an area characterized as a priority neighbourhood in Toronto that experiences high rates of crime.
v. His mother described racial discrimination he experienced in the community and in school.
vi. Mr. Phillips-Campbell saw fights, drug dealing, and violence in his neighbourhood even though this was not occurring inside his apartment.
vii. Mr. Phillips-Campbell has experienced the loss of several friends and people he knows to gun violence, and he is only 20 years old.
viii. These traumas have led to, or contributed in part to, a diagnosis of PTSD that requires medical attention.
36These are all well established markers of the experience of racism, the impact of racism, and the effect of growing up in a community struggling to overcome the disadvantages some young Black men experience in the city of Toronto. This factor, particularly because Mr. Phillips-Campbell was only 18 years old at the time attenuates his moral culpability.
37The Supreme Court of Canada, and every level of court has repeatedly stated that denunciation and deterrence are the primary guiding principles in cases of possessing firearms with ammunition. “Gun-related crime poses grave danger to Canadians”, R. v. Nur, 2015 SCC 15 at paragraph 1.
38Given the gravity of the offence, the blameworthiness of the offender, and the primary applicable principles of denunciation and deterrence in this case, both the Crown and the Defence have jointly submitted a 3-year jail sentence minus pre-sentence custody and a 2-year probation with terms to assist Mr. Phillips-Campbell with his rehabilitation.
39This is well within the range as an appropriate sentence for a youthful first offender with no criminal record for the possession of a loaded firearm he carried around the city, showed off to young girls, and stored carelessly.
40One may ask why the Court is providing written reasons, given the joint submission.
41I do so, because every once in a while, there is a moment during a sentencing hearing when the consequences of incarcerating such a young man, barely a man in fact, weighs so heavily and intensely on every participant in the courtroom that the sentencing becomes a shared experience of heartache. Such was the case with Chimar Phillips-Cambell. It deserves to be noted in writing.
42During his allocution Mr. Phillips-Campbell recognized that the court had tried to provide him with a chance to rehabilitate himself while on bail, and he missed the opportunity to do so. Now back in jail, the weight and significance of his lost opportunity was easily observed.
43Mr. Phillips-Campbell having recognized this tremendous chance wasted, apologized to the court in a way that communicated he thought he was not worth the time and effort. He is wrong about that.
44The misplaced loyalty to people whose friendships are exposing Mr. Phillips-Campbell to lethal danger, the youthful bravado of wanting to cope on his own with his mental illness, which like any physical illness require medical treatment, and the weight of appreciating what the harsh experience of incarceration for such a young man will do to him, moved those in the body of the court to tears. It moved court participants to share words of support and guidance about mental health in the hopes that sharing vulnerability will provide a ray of hope and an alternative path than the one Mr. Phillips-Campbell is on at the moment.
45Mr. Phillips-Campbell may not realize how he moved people in the courtroom with his simple statements, and how much people care about his well being and believe in his potential.
46It has been said that courts deal with the aftermath of conduct that cannot be undone. Sanctions cannot change the past. Mr. Phillips-Campbell must be sentenced for the serious offence he committed.
47However, this Court hopes that Mr. Phillips-Campbell understands and accepts he was worth the chance he was given to rehabilitate. He was worth it, and he will always be worth it. He can move forward after the completion this sentence and have the positive life he hopes for.
Sentence:
48I sentence Mr. Phillips-Campbell to 3 years in jail minus pre-sentence custody2 enhanced per Summers, which means serving another 448 days on the s. 95(1) count. He will be sentenced to the carry concealed weapon concurrently, and the fail to comply will be reflected as pre-sentence custody of 90 days enhanced to 135 days, plus 1 day in jail concurrent.
49Mr. Phillips-Campbell will then be on probation for a period of 2 years. In addition to the statutory terms, he will report within 2 business days of his release from custody, he will have no contact with the two young girls, he will not possess any weapon as defined by the Criminal Code, he will take counselling as directed by his probation officer, and in particular, life-skills, employment and further education as directed. He will participate in an organized recreational sport and provide proof of so doing to his probation officer. He will sign releases so that his probation officer can monitor his attendance at counselling.
50Mr. Phillips-Campbell will also provide a sample of his DNA today and be prohibited from possessing a weapon per s. 109 for life.
51Mr. Phillips-Campbell, I wish you well.
52I thank all counsel for their thoughtful submissions.
Released: March 24, 2026
Signed: Justice Cidalia C.G. Faria
Footnotes
- R. v. Morris, 2021 ONCA 680.
- Sentence of 1095 days minus 431 days enhanced to 647 days with 448 days to serve.