These companion youth sentencing appeals considered the meaning of “violent offence” in s. 39(1)(a) of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, one of the statutory gateways to custody.
The Court rejected both a force-based definition and the broader Alberta approach that included offences where bodily harm was merely reasonably foreseeable.
It held that a “violent offence” is one in the commission of which a young person causes, attempts to cause, or threatens to cause bodily harm.
Because the record did not establish that the appellants’ offences met that definition, the custodial sentences were quashed and the matters remitted to youth court for fresh sentencing.
