Canada Case Law

R. v. Omar

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Judge found aggravating factors (deliberate, repeated knife attacks, invasion of victim's bedroom, injuries and weapon use) outweighed mitigating factors but noted provocation context and background; imposed four years six months for aggravated assault and three years for attempted break and enter to be served concurrently; awarded 54 days credit for pre-trial custody; ordered firearms prohibition, DNA order, forfeiture/destruction of knives and blood-stained clothing, transmission of reports to CSC, and a no-contact order while in custody.

Source excerpt

• Aggravated assault
• Attempted break and enter
• Concurrent sentencing
• Credit for pre-trial custody
• Ancillary orders (firearms prohibition, dna, forfeiture)
• Impact of race and culture evidence

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R. v. Clow

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court sentenced Skyler Thomas Clow to a concurrent global term of 4.5 years for drug trafficking and a loaded prohibited firearm offence, with credit for pre-sentence custody.

• Trafficking
• Possession for purpose of trafficking
• Possession of loaded prohibited firearm
• Concurrent sentencing
• Pre-sentence custody credit
• Forfeiture

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R. v. Britnell

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Sentencing for assault, pointing and discharging a shotgun, dangerous possession of a firearm, and careless storage. The court imposed 9 months’ custody plus probation.

• Assault
• Pointing a firearm
• Possession of firearm for dangerous purpose
• Careless storage of firearm
• Probation conditions
• Victim surcharge

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R. v. Armstrong

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court sentenced Clinton George Armstrong for multiple violence and breach offences arising from assaults on Taura Leith, imposing concurrent terms and ancillary orders.

• Aggravated assault
• Breaking and entering
• Forcible confinement
• Uttering threats
• Mischief
• Bail/undertaking breach

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R. v. C.C.

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The trial judge properly considered the punitive impact of bail and permissibly declined Downes credit based on the totality principle; even if use of concurrency to deny Downes credit were erroneous, the global six‑year sentence was nonetheless fit given the gravity of the offences, and the fresh evidence did not show the rare post‑sentencing change required to revisit sentence absent error.

Source excerpt

• Downes credit
• Bail conditions mitigation
• Fresh evidence
• Totality principle
• Concurrent sentencing

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R. v. Fleurant

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Mr. Fleurant was found in contempt for refusing to testify as a compellable witness and was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, concurrent with his life sentence.

• Refusal to testify
• Compellable witness obligations
• Joint submission on sentence
• Concurrent sentencing
• Contempt-of-court
• Refusal-to-testify

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R. v. Voszler

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court sentenced Richard Stephen Voszler for drug and firearms offences, applying guilty plea and custody credit, and imposed concurrent terms plus DNA, forfeiture and firearm prohibition orders.

• Possession for the purpose of trafficking
• Simple possession
• Possession of restricted firearm without licence
• Presentence custody credit
• Concurrent sentencing
• Forfeiture

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R. v. Dhaliwal

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The sentencing judge erred in imposing a 7-year sentence because the facts were materially less serious than those that justify the 7–11 year range for serious gun offences; the appropriate reduction was to 6 years for the firearms offences (concurrent) resulting in a 7-year global sentence.

Source excerpt

• Sentence reduction
• Minimum sentence
• Concurrent sentencing
• Global sentence

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R. v. Munton

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Sentencing reasons in an arson case where the court accepted a joint submission, imposed 36 months concurrent custody less credit, and ordered DNA and weapons prohibitions.

• Concurrent sentencing
• Joint sentencing submission
• Dna order
• Weapons prohibition
• Credit for time served
• Publication restriction

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R. v. Taylor

Court

Nova Scotia Provincial Court

Given the gravity of trafficking methamphetamine and absence of exceptional mitigating circumstances, the court adopted the two-year benchmark sentence: 24 months custody on the trafficking count, 24 months concurrent on the related possession-for-purpose count, and six months concurrent on the marijuana possession count, together with ancillary orders (weapons prohibition under s.109 Criminal Code, DNA order, forfeiture to be arranged by Crown, and $300 victim fine surcharge payable within two years).

Source excerpt

• Trafficking in schedule i drugs
• Possession for the purpose of trafficking
• Denunciation and general deterrence
• Concurrent sentencing
• Ancillary orders

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