Court of Appeal for Ontario

Date: 2018-01-09 Docket: C63124

Judges: Doherty, LaForme and van Rensburg JJ.A.

Between

Her Majesty the Queen Respondent

and

Manasie Ipeelee Appellant

Counsel

Fergus J. O'Connor, for the appellant

Andreea Baiasu, for the respondent

Hearing and Appeal

Heard: October 20, 2017

On appeal from the sentence imposed by Justice Diane Lahaie of the Ontario Court of Justice on November 22, 2016.

Appeal Book Endorsement

[1] The sentencing judge erred in imposing a sentence that exceeded the Crown's position without providing the appellant's counsel with an opportunity to make further submissions in light of the trial judge's inclination to impose a greater sentence than the sentence requested: R. v. Grant, 2016 ONCA 639, at paras. 164-166.

[2] In light of this error, we have considered the fitness of the sentence de novo. The sentence requested by the Crown at the trial was fit in all of the circumstances. In our view, none of the principles of sentence warrant the imposition of a longer sentence for this particular breach. The sentence is varied to 12 months, less pre-trial custody of 219 days.