Supreme Court of Canada to review sentencing in handgun possession case

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada will review the case of a man who received a sentence to be served under house arrest for illegal handgun possession.

Terrell Burke-Whittaker was at a Toronto restaurant in June 2020 when someone in a parked car began shooting into a lot behind the building.

Burke-Whittaker pulled a gun from a satchel and fired a shot in the general direction of the vehicle before fleeing.

Burke-Whittaker turned himself in following a police investigation and later pleaded guilty to a Criminal Code charge of illegal firearm possession.

An Ontario judge cited Burke-Whittaker’s remorse and efforts to turn his life around in handing him a conditional sentence of two years less a day, to be followed by three years’ probation with strict conditions.

A majority of the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the Crown’s appeal, noting Burke-Whittaker had served a significant portion of his conditional sentence already and arguing sending him to prison at that point would undermine his rehabilitation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2025.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press