La Loche shooter’s adult sentence to be appealed to Supreme Court of Canada

The adult sentence of the La Loche school shooter is being appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada before the end of the year.

Lawyer Aaron Fox confirmed to 650 CKOM on Tuesday he is preparing to apply to the SCOC for leave to appeal his client’s sentence, which the defence counsel argues should have been a youth sentence.

The shooter pleaded guilty over three years ago to the January 22, 2016 rampage that killed brothers Dayne and Drayden Fontaine in their home, along with teacher Adam Wood and teacher’s aide Marie Janvier at the La Loche Dene High School.

Despite being just shy of his 18th birthday on the day of the shooting, he was handed an adult life sentence in February 2018 by Justice Janet McIvor.

Fox said in an interview a legal question needs to be answered in the case as to whether the shooter’s cognitive and mental issues should have factored into the decision of how to sentence him.

“There’s no question this was a serious offence, a horrific offence,” Fox said. “But that didn’t override the fact that he had these underlying issues that pointed towards a youth sentence.”

The decision to appeal to the SCOC comes after the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal upheld the shooter’s adult sentence at the end of October in a 2-1 ruling.

The shooter’s defence counsel is pointing to the dissenting opinion of Justice Georgina Jackson, who noted the case may require a “higher level of review.”

Fox said the application for leave will be filed by the end of December, within the 60-day appeal period following the appellate court decision.

Once the application is filed, the Crown will have 30 days to file its own arguments to the SCOC.

A decision on whether the Supreme Court justices will hear the case is expected by spring 2020.