A judge blasted a serial drunk driver Tuesday as she handed him a 28-month sentence and banned him from getting behind the wheel of a car for the rest of his life.
But it was far less time than the five years sought by the Crown, who argued Bernard Brassard is like a loaded gun that shoots bullets which are a two-tonne car.
Brassard, 40, pleaded guilty last month to impaired driving and driving while prohibited, bringing his tally to 15 driving-related and 10 drunk-driving-related convictions.
He also has a long record of petty crimes and convictions for breaching court orders not to drive.
That record and the fact that Brassard was banned from driving when he was weaving along Walkley Rd. in Feb. 2009 with a travel mug of wine are aggravating, Ontario Court Justice Celynne Dorval said.
She told Brassard that she wasn’t punishing him for his addiction but for his bad choices.
“It’s not because a person is alcoholic that that person is a criminal,” Dorval said in French. “It’s not because a person is alcoholic that he chooses to put other people’s lives in danger. Alcoholism does not justify nor explain the complete lack of respect for court orders.
“What defines Mr. Brassard as a criminal are the acts he chooses to commit and not his vulnerability to alcohol.”
She did note, however, that Brassard has been sober for 10 months after completing a rehabilitation program for the first time and that Maison Melaric “has helped him a lot and he has truly changed.”
After partial credit for time served in jail before his guilty plea – but none for months in rehab – Brassard has 20 months left to serve in provincial jail.
Dorval concluded that Brassard had to go to jail but noted that she reviewed two dozen similar cases in reaching a fit sentence.
Prosecutor Paul Attia had sought five years in the federal penitentiary – the maximum possible sentence – arguing that Dorval needed to protect the public from the inveterate drunk driver. Attia noted that Brassard hasn’t been deterred by driving bans before and predicted he’d drive drunk again.
Defence lawyer Bob Carew suggested options starting from time served, arguing that similar offenders have got less time in worse cases involving accidents and injuries. Treating Brassard’s alcoholism is the way to protect the public, he argued.
I completely agree with this sentence. This man needs to spend some time (20 months) in jail to show denunciation and specific deterrence of the offender, but not an excessive amount of time. He has participated in a rehab program already and I agree with the defence, in that treating his alcohol problem is the best way to protect the public. He made the choices he did, because he was under the influence of alcohol. I think that if he were sober, he would be able to think more clearly and reason out his actions and decisions.
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