A Hay River man who robbed a gas bar at gun point was handed a four year sentence in NWT Supreme court Monday, despite a challenge from his lawyer who said the lengthy sentence was unconstitutional.
Cameron Bernarde, 23, was convicted of robbery with a firearm after he entered Hay River's Rooster gas bar in November 2016 and demanded cash after a night of drinking.
Bernarde wore a disguise and pointed a .22 calibre rifle at the store clerk, who handed him $200. The rifle was rusty and the employee doubted it was operable, but a later test revealed it could be fired.
By using a firearm while committing the robbery, Bernarde – who lives with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) – faced a mandatory minimum sentence of four years.
The mandatory sentence, part of stricter gun crime laws brought in by the Conservative government in 2008, was challenged by Bernarde's lawyer, Peter Harte, who argued the hefty sentence amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.
In filing a constitutional challenge to the mandatory minimum sentence Bernarde faced, Harte contended his client's tumultuous upbringing, coupled with the challenges brought on by FASD, meant the four year sentence should be cut in half.
Handing down her decision Monday, Justice Louise Charbonneau said sentencing is never easy, but that Bernarde's case was especially difficult.
Charbonneau, acknowledging the hardships Bernarde had experienced, said he was failed by a system that didn't offer him the help he needed. Nonetheless, Charbonneau said Bernarde's struggles don't excuse the “very serious crime” he committed, and that she had no choice but to uphold a mandatory minimum sentence of four years.
Aggravating factors, including the fact that Bernarde wore a disguise and pointed the gun directly at the clerk, Charbonneau said, contributed to the seriousness of the crime.
Outside of the Yellowknife courthouse, Harte told media he was “disappointed” with the decision.
“Here's a guy who didn't get the support he needed as a kid; was born with a disability, got nothing to … help him deal with that, and now he's serving a mandatory minimum sentence …,” said Harte.
Harte added the decision underlines the “desperate” need for the criminal justice system to address the calls to action put forth by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as the report mentions weighing exceptions to mandatory minimum sentences for offenders living with FASD.
“If (Charbonneau) felt that her hands were bound, Parliament needs to get into gear and deal with these issues promptly and not just sit on it making promises that we're going to have a new deal for the relationship between the government and Indigenous peoples,” Harte said.
In February, Charbonneau scrapped mandatory minimum sentences for two offenders – Tony Kakfwi of Fort Good Hope and Corey Cardinal of Inuvik – after constitutional challenges were launched. Both men were charged with the reckless firing of a gun, but Charbonneau ruled mandatory minimum sentences, in their cases, would be unconstitutional.
With time already served, Bernarde will spend just shy of two years behind bars. Upon his release, he will be on probation for three years and cannot possess firearms for 15 years.