ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
COURT FILE NO.: CR-13-70000 349-0000
DATE: 20140326
BETWEEN:
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
– and –
PRAIMDAT RAMKISSOON
Monica Gharabaway, for the Crown
David Burke, for the Accused
HEARD: February 27, 2014
DUNNET J.: (Orally)
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
[1] Praimdat Ramkissoon has entered a plea of guilty to impaired driving causing bodily harm. These are my reasons for sentence.
[2] On October 23, 2010, at five o’clock in the afternoon, Mr. Ramkissoon was driving his motor vehicle on Avenue Road, a busy street in Toronto, when he struck Kelly Gibson, a pedestrian, and a utility pole, causing more than $5,000 in damage to the front of his vehicle.
[3] After the police arrived, Mr. Ramkissoon showed obvious signs of impairment. His blood alcohol readings were 174 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood and 169 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
[4] The Victim Impact Statement states that Ms. Gibson was struck from behind, bounced off Mr. Ramkissoon’s vehicle and landed in a neighbour’s garden. She suffered a concussion and a hip injury. She required professional rehabilitation and full-time support for four months and her mental health was affected.
[5] Mr. Ramkissoon’s criminal record includes convictions for impaired driving in 1985, having a blood alcohol level over the legal limit in 1997 and careless driving in 2012.
[6] The Pre-Sentence Report states that Mr. Ramkissoon is 56 years old. He was born in Guyana and came to Canada at the age of 26. He is married and has three children, aged 25, 19 and 17. He started drinking at the age of 18 and has struggled with alcohol for most of his life. He has been employed as a purchaser with Hydro One for the past eight years and he has family support when he is not drinking.
[7] In 2012, he attended ten counselling sessions for alcohol abuse. Correspondence from The Anger Management Centre of Toronto states that he made significant progress. After he suffered a stroke in August 2013, Mr. Ramkissoon made a self-referral to Bellwood Health Services on December 10, 2013, and successfully completed the twenty-one day treatment program.
[8] The exit report from Bellwood Health Services states that during individual and group therapy, Mr. Ramkissoon appeared in denial as to the seriousness of his drinking and its impact on his life and relationships. The report states that he seemed to lack insight into the reasons for his alcoholism and continued to be ambivalent about recovery. The report recommends that he participate in anger management, the Aftercare Program and the Family Program.
[9] Mr. Ramkissoon has started to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and participates as a volunteer at the Shiva-Shakti Cultural Sabha.
[10] The Crown’s position is that, given Mr. Ramkissoon’s prior criminal record for drinking and driving and his callous disregard for the safety of the public, a custodial sentence of two years less a day is warranted, followed by a period of probation.
[11] The defence submits that although alcohol has had a powerful grip on Mr. Ramkissoon in the past, he is motivated to maintain his sobriety. The defence seeks a six to nine month custodial sentence followed by a lengthy probationary period.
[12] In R. v. Alm, 2013 SKCA 40, 414 Sask. R. 41, at para. 8, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal stated:
There have been massive efforts in the last number of years by both government and non-government organizations to educate people about the tragic consequences of drinking and driving. Legislation has changed to reflect the abhorrence by society of a crime which happens all too often and ruins people’s lives as a result. Sentences have increased and still people drink and drive. This is unfortunate. Denunciation and deterrence are therefore still the primary objectives to be achieved when sentencing for offences in this area.
[13] In R. v. McVeigh (1985), 1985 115 (ON CA), 22 C.C.C. (3d) 145 (Ont. C.A.), at p. 150, MacKinnon A.C.J.O. said:
No one takes to the road after drinking with the thought that someone may be killed as a result of his drinking. The sentences should be such as to make it very much less attractive for the drinker to get behind the wheel of a car after drinking. The public should not have to wait until members of the public are killed before the courts’ repudiation of the conduct that led to the killing is made clear. It is trite to say that every drinking driver is a potential killer.
[14] The aggravating factors in this case are as follows:
Mr. Ramkassoon was significantly impaired with a blood alcohol concentration of two times the permitted legal limit.
The victim was injured physically and emotionally.
This is Mr. Ramkissoon’s third offence for drinking and driving.
[15] The mitigating factors are as follows:
By his guilty plea and by his comments to the court, Mr. Ramkissoon has expressed a great deal of remorse.
He has taken steps to address his alcoholism.
He enjoys the support of his family.
He has been gainfully employed.
[16] It is necessary to balance the need for specific deterrence, the need to recognize the paramount considerations of general deterrence and society’s denunciation for these offences, and the need to permit Mr. Ramkissoon to pursue his prospects for rehabilitation.
[17] Mr. Ramkissoon, please stand:
In my opinion, an appropriate sentence in these circumstances is fifteen months’ imprisonment.
[18] I also impose five-year driving prohibition from the date of your release pursuant to s. 259 of the Criminal Code. I order that you provide samples of your bodily fluid that are reasonably required for the purpose of DNA analysis pursuant to s. 487.051 of the Criminal Code.
[19] Upon your release, you will be subject to a probation order for a period of three years. The terms of that order are that you shall:
Keep the peace and be of good behaviour;
Appear before the court when required to do so;
Notify the court or probation officer in advance of any change of name or address;
Promptly notify the court or the probation officer of any change of employment or occupation;
Report, in person, within two working days from your release from jail to a probation officer as directed and thereafter be under the supervision of a probation officer or person authorized by the probation office to assist in your supervision;
Report at such times and places as that person may require;
Abstain from the purchase, consumption or possession of alcohol;
Attend and actively participate in such rehabilitative programs for alcohol abuse as may be recommended by your probation officer; and
Have no contact directly or indirectly with the victim, Kelly Gibson.
DUNNET J.
Released: March 26, 2014
COURT FILE NO.: CR-13-70000 349-0000
DATE: 20140326
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
– and –
PRAIMDAT RAMKISSOON
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
DUNNET J.
Released: March 26, 2014