Supreme Court

R. v. Greenland, 2003 NWTSC 27
Date: 20030529
Docket: S-1-CR2002000120

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

IN THE MATTER OF:



HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN


- vs. -


PAT GREENLAND


Transcript of the Oral Reasons for Sentence by The Honourable Justice J.E. Richard, at Inuvik in the Northwest Territories, on May 13th A.D., 2003.

APPEARANCES:

Ms. S. Smallwood:  Counsel for the Crown

Mr. J. MacFarlane:  Counsel for the Accused


Charge under s. 5(1) Controlled Drugs and Substances Act


THE COURT:   Patrick John Greenland is a 20-year-old resident of Inuvik who also got himself involved in the illegal cocaine trade here and who, today, must face the music and pay the price for certain choices that he made a year ago.

This young man is also of Gwich'in ancestry, was born and raised here, has a Grade 10 education, and has supportive family members and relatives.

When the RCMP were engaged in Project Getaway in the spring of 2002, they obviously had gathered some intelligence during their investigation to the effect that Mr. Greenland was involved in the illegal drug trade. The police operatives made a point of contacting him at one or more of the bars here at Inuvik. They observed him in the course of dividing up some marijuana, and he was quite open about the number of joints that he had for sale.

On April 10th, he sold a gram of cocaine to the police agent for $150. The next day, April 11th, he sold the agent another gram of cocaine for $150.

It is noteworthy in the context of determination of an appropriate sentence that Mr. Greenland's offence consists not merely of one isolated transaction but two separate cocaine transactions and that he was quite willing to sell more cocaine to this customer and that he obviously had a regular steady supply of cocaine and marijuana. Mr. Greenland was

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engaged in a commercial enterprise and by his own admission, dealt directly with the main supplier in the town of Inuvik.

It is pointed out to me that Mr. Greenland was only 19 years of age when he committed this offence in April of 2002. Indeed, it appears that he was young, immature, and foolish when he decided to get involved in this commercial enterprise.

Mr. Greenland is not a stranger in Court. In December 1998, he was convicted in Youth Court for three break and enter offences and sentenced to nine months open custody. Because of that, he had to have known that there are consequences for breaking the law and for doing harm to the community.

I will not repeat here what I have just said in sentencing Mr. Blake about the prevalence of this crime of trafficking in cocaine in this jurisdiction and the havoc that it is causing to the social fabric of our northern communities, added to already overwhelming social problems, but I adopt those remarks for Mr. Greenland's sentencing without again repeating them.

I will repeat that the usual sentence for this offence in this jurisdiction, in recent months and years, is a significant jail term. There have regrettably been a number of 19 and 20 year olds, like Pat Greenland, who have been before the Court in

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exactly the same predicament as Pat Greenland. In that sense, there is nothing unusual about his situation or his circumstances.

I am asked to consider imposing a conditional sentence under Section 742.1 of the Criminal Code instead of actual incarceration. In making this request, counsel submits that under the current sentencing landscape in the criminal law of Canada, a conditional sentence is available for the offence of trafficking in cocaine and cites in support of this assertion, in particular, the decisions of the Alberta Court of Appeal in Beaudry and Rahime.

I acknowledge that a conditional sentence is available for the offence which Mr. Greenland has committed, however, the statutory prerequisites in Section 742.1 must be present before a conditional sentence can be considered.

Upon consideration of the circumstances of the offence here and of this offender, I am not satisfied that allowing Mr. Greenland to serve his sentence in the community would be consistent with the fundamental purpose of sentencing and the principles of sentencing. I reiterate that Pat Greenland was engaged in an ongoing enterprise, a pattern of illegal activity which was harmful to the community and not one isolated transaction to a friend or a social transaction. In these circumstances, allowing

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Mr. Greenland to serve his sentence in the community would hardly promote an acknowledgment of the harm done to the community, nor would it serve to adequately denounce this pattern of unlawful behaviour which comprises the offence and its surrounding circumstances. Allowing Mr. Greenland's sentence to be served in the community would also offend the principle of parity in sentencing as there are simply no reasons or special circumstances to deviate from sentences imposed on similar offenders for similar offences.

I decline to impose a conditional sentence as I find that the statutory prerequisites are not present.

Please stand, Mr. Greenland.

Pat Greenland, for the crime that you have committed, trafficking cocaine contrary to Section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, it is the sentence of this Court that you be imprisoned for a period of ten months. In addition, there will be the mandatory firearms prohibition order under Section 109 of the Criminal Code and a Victim Fine Surcharge of $35.

You may be seated.

Now, counsel, is there anything further on either of these matters?

MS. SMALLWOOD:  Nothing, sir.

MR. MACFARLANE:  No, sir.

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THE COURT:   Thank you, we will close court.

(AT WHICH TINE THE ORAL REASONS FOR SENTENCE CONCLUDED)


Certified to be a true and accurate transcript pursuant to Rules 723 and 724 of the Supreme Court Rules.

Lois Hewitt
Court Reporter

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