Nunavunmi Maligaliuqtiit

NUNAVUT COURT OF JUSTICE

Cour de justice du Nunavut

Citation: R. v. Qaqasiq, 2020 NUCJ 36

Date: 20201027
Docket: 10-18-49
Registry: Iqaluit

Crown: Her Majesty the Queen

-and-

Accused: Aamusie Charlie Qaqasiq

________________________________________________________________________

Before: Mr. Justice Lyons

Counsel (Crown): A. Dion

Counsel (Accused): M. Manocchio

Location Heard: Iqaluit, Nunavut

Date Heard: September 18, 2020
Matters: Sentencing for attempted murder under Criminal Code of
Canada, RSC 1985, c C-46 s. 239(b)

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

(NOTE: This document may have been edited for publication)

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DISCLAIMER PAGE

This judgment has been partially anonymized at the discretion of the

authoring Justice to protect vulnerable parties.
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I. INTRODUCTION

[1] The offender, Aamusie Charlie Qaqasiq, has pleaded guilty to a

charge of attempted murder. He is before the Court to be sentenced.
To preserve the anonymity of the victim, I will refer to him using the
initials KL. For ease of reference, I will use the offender’s first name.

II. BACKGROUND

[2] On the morning of May 19, 2018, 16-year-old KL was working as a

cashier at the grocery store in his small home community, when 20-
year-old Aamusie entered. Apart from occasionally seeing Aamusie
around town and in the store, KL did not know Aamusie. They had
never spoken or dealt with each other.

[3] Suddenly, without provocation or any apparent reason, Aamusie

attacked KL with a hunting knife. He stabbed KL in the upper body,
pinned KL to the ground, and continued stabbing him.

[4] Store employees intervened and restrained Aamusie momentarily,

which allowed KL to flee down one of the shopping aisles. Aamusie
was able to free himself from the grasp of the store employees and
chased KL down the aisle, catching up to him at the end of the aisle
where he stabbed KL in the back, pinned him to the floor, and
continued stabbing him.

[5] Store patrons intervened and were able to restrain Aamusie and
remove him from the store where he was held down until the police
arrived and arrested him.

[6] KL was seriously injured and bleeding heavily. He was in pain but
remained conscious. He was taken to the health centre where he was
in and out of alertness. He was covered in blood and sustained 15
significant stab wounds to his upper body: six on his back; three on
his chest; one each on his shoulder, abdomen, and flank; one large
six-inch long gaping wound to his forearm that exposed bones; and a
laceration to his palm and cheek.

[7] He was stabilized and medevac’d to Iqaluit. X-rays taken in Iqaluit

showed evidence of collapsed lungs, and he had difficulty breathing.
He underwent surgery, received a chest tube, had stitches to close
the numerous wounds, received IV treatment, and spent three weeks
in hospital recovering.
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[8] Long after the attack he suffered pain, muscle aches, and had
difficulty lifting things. He has since largely recovered physically from
the attack but is left with significant scarring.

[9] Aamusie was not injured during the incident.

III. OFFENDER’S ACCOUNT OF THE INCIDENT

[10] The court has had the benefit of psychiatric assessments of Aamusie
conducted while he has been in custody. During those assessments
he gave differing accounts of the incident. The most comprehensive
of the assessments was the court-ordered report written by Dr. De
Freitas in June 2019. Dr. De Freitas had the benefit of extensive
meetings with Aamusie, and she observed and treated him during the
three months he was an inpatient with her at the Ontario Shores
Centre for Mental Health Sciences from March to June 2019.

[11] Aamusie reported to Dr. De Frietas that he did drugs prior to the
attack on KL and was stoned when he committed the offence. He said
he didn’t feel good that day and just felt like killing somebody. He
didn’t know why he felt that way, but for some reason he didn’t care
about life that day.

[12] He said he went for a walk to clear his head and entered the CO-OP
to buy something. He was armed with a hunting knife. Once inside, he
started stabbing the first male he saw. He said he wasn’t going to stab
a female, as that just wasn’t him. He said that he lost control and kept
stabbing and stabbing and stabbing. When KL ran away, he said he
still stabbed him as he just wanted KL to die. He reported that he was
aiming for KL’s neck but missed because KL moved.

[13] He said that at the time he knew it was wrong to stab someone. When
asked why he did it he said he didn’t know, and there was no reason
he guessed. He said that after his arrest he thought he had killed KL
and done the wrong thing and that he would go to jail for 25 years.

[14] When asked about how he felt about the attack he said “I feel sorry
for the guy. I feel sorry about stabbing him”. He said he was disgusted
with himself and couldn’t believe he did what he did.
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[15] Regarding the drugs Aamusie was on at the time, his various
accounts are inconsistent. He described just being on five grams of
marijuana, then later said he was also on crack cocaine as well as a
variety of psychiatric medications, Prozac, Cogentin, and clozapine.
He had told another doctor that he stopped taking clozapine a month
prior to the incident. At other times he stated he had stopped taking all
medication for about three months prior to the attack on KL.1

[16] He also told another doctor that he had been under the influence of
alcohol at the time of the offence but told Dr. De Frietas that he had
not.

[17] He also reported using Wellbutrin, gabapentin, crack cocaine,

cannabis, an opiate, Prozac, and other psychiatric medications in the
weeks and days prior to the offence.

IV. VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS

[18] KL and his parents attended the sentencing hearing in Iqaluit in

person and provided victim impact statements.

[19] As can be expected, they have been significantly affected by the

attack on KL. They struggle with the senselessness and viciousness
of the attack. As the parents put it, KL is the most innocent boy, a
precious and good son who has never hurt anyone. That someone in
their small community would try to kill such an innocent boy has been
traumatizing. They no longer trust others outside of family and friends.

[20] They describe KL as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and

anxiety, and he has seen a mental health nurse as a result. After the
attack, KL largely stayed at home. He was unable to be out in public,
as he was afraid of being targeted again. The only time he went out of
the house was with one of his parents.

[21] KL’s mother said that her son grew up very happy and was loved by
all. She said he was an outgoing person but is not like that anymore.
His parents report that they easily cry knowing their son is suffering.
For KL, the physical scars on his body serve as a constant,
unavoidable reminder of the attack.

1 See Dr. De Freitas’ report at 26.

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[22] KL used to work at the CO-OP four or five times a week after school
and on weekends. He tried to go back to work but experienced
flashbacks to the attack and found it emotionally and mentally difficult
to be there, so he quit his job.

[23] KL’s mother also had to stop working for a period to stay home with
KL, which resulted in financial hardship for the family. KL’s father said
he was so concerned for his son’s well-being that he became less
committed to his job and only wanted to be at home with his son to
protect him.

[24] They are troubled that Aamusie will likely return to their small hamlet
after he serves his jail sentence. KL is afraid to see Aamusie and is
concerned that he may attack his family or find him and “finish the job”
as he put it. KL’s father does not want Aamusie in the community and
wants his son to be protected.

[25] I was heartened to hear from Crown counsel that since the attack and
the filing of the victim impact statements, KL has graduated high
school, and now works as a substitute teacher. This is a significant
achievement, and a testament to KL’s resilience, courage, and
strength, as well as an indication of the kind of love and support he
has received from his family in the wake of the attack.

V. PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE OFFENDER

[26] Aamusie was raised in his home community primarily by his

grandparents. His biological mother lives in Yellowknife and has not
been a part of his life since age two when their relationship was
severed. It appears his mother had a problem with alcohol and was
unable to care for Aamusie. His biological father has a significant and
violent criminal history and spent much time in jail when Aamusie was
growing up.

[27] Aamusie has a positive relationship with his grandparents. He

attended school and did fairly well. His grades were good, and he
graduated high school. He also completed a few courses at Arctic
College in his community. His grandmother described him as a good
boy, but she said that he started to get in trouble when he was 17 or
18 years old. It was at this time he began smoking marijuana, drinking
alcohol, and doing other drugs.
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[28] His father appears to have a drug problem. He may have provided
Aamusie drugs and done drugs with Aamusie.

[29] When intoxicated Aamusie would become aggressive and out of

control. During some incidents, he punched holes in the walls at
home. He also reportedly broke into his aunt’s home while intoxicated,
stabbed several walls with a knife, and demolished a bedroom door.
He was arrested and charged because of this and referred to
community justice.

[30] Aamusie, his father, and his grandmother all reported other acts of
violence while Aamusie was under the influence of drugs and/or
alcohol, including hitting people with rocks and beating people up.
Aamusie said that in 2017 or 2018 while intoxicated by alcohol and
cannabis he almost killed someone. He said he chased a random
man with a machete and almost macheted him in the head, but the
man was able to escape into a house. He said he also chased his
father with a machete.

VI. PSYCHIATRIC HISTORY

[31] From 2016 until 2018 Aamusie had a series of admissions to hospital
because he exhibited bizarre behaviour, appeared to have seizures,
reported being paranoid, described auditory and visual hallucinations,
and appeared to experience psychotic episodes. He was prescribed a
variety of psychiatric medications, some of which he took, and others
that he did not.

[32] He was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2016 when he first reported

symptoms and again in 2018 in the Defence-commissioned report of
Dr. Gojer, which assessed whether or not Aamusie was criminally
responsible for the attack.

[33] The diagnosis of schizophrenia is controversial. Dr. Choptiany treated

Aamusie in 2017 and 2018 in Iqaluit, and opined that the diagnosis
was unclear. He noted that despite having been diagnosed with
schizophrenia and having been off of antipsychotic medication for
months, Aamusie’s thought processes were organized.2

2 See Dr. De Freitas’ report at 22.

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[34] Another psychiatrist, Dr. Law, found that his reported symptoms were
better explained as drug-induced psychosis and a mood disorder and
that his reported hallucinations were not true hallucinations.3 The
seizures were determined to be pseudo-seizures (willful or voluntary
seizure-like activity produced by the patient), as their presentation
was not consistent with true seizures, and a 2017 CT scan read as
normal.4

[35] Another psychiatrist, Dr. Klassen, wrote a court-ordered report in

which he slightly favored a diagnosis of a factitious disorder with
psychological symptoms, which is a disorder in which someone acts
as if he has a mental illness by deliberately creating or exaggerating
symptoms of illness.5

[36] Dr. De Frietas, in her 45-page assessment, did not rule out the
diagnosis of schizophrenia but thought Aamusie’s reported psychotic
symptoms were best explained by a combination of substance-
induced psychotic disorder and malingering (faking symptoms to
achieve some perceived benefit).6

[37] She based this conclusion on her and her staff’s three-month period
of observing Aamusie at Ontario Shores in 2019 and her review of his
psychiatric history and other assessments. While at Ontario Shores,
observations of staff members did not support his reported symptoms,
and psychological tests showed that he was most likely feigning
symptoms of mental illness.

[38] Given Dr. De Freitas’ extensive opportunity to observe Aamusie, her

assessment was the most helpful to the court in shedding light on
Aamusie’s mental state at the time of the incident.7

[39] While Dr. De Freitas could not rule out the presence of a major mental
illness, she believed it less likely than substance-induced psychotic
disorder. She felt that his history of bizarre behaviour and psychotic
symptoms was likely the result of his extensive abuse of drugs and
his feigning symptoms.

3 See Dr. De Freitas’ report at 20.

4 See Dr. De Freitas’ report at 19, Dr. Klassen’s report at 4.
5 See Dr. Klassen’s report at 8.
6 See Dr. De Freitas’ report at 40.
7 See Dr. De Freitas’ report at 39.
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[40] Dr. De Frietas’ medical opinion was that Aamusie committed the
attack on KL because of intoxication. She found this to be consistent
with his extensive substance use at the time and his history of
violence when intoxicated. Intoxication would explain a violent act on
a random stranger without any clear motive.

[41] She thought it might be possible he was experiencing psychotic

symptoms at the time of the attack, but that it was difficult to
determine this because of his inconsistent self-reporting. However,
even giving him the benefit of the doubt and assuming that he was
psychotic at the time, she thought it is likely that these symptoms
were caused by his substance use and not a major mental illness.

VII. POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES

[42] The Crown position is that a jail sentence of seven years is necessary
to denounce the crime and deter others from committing similar
attacks.

[43] The Defence submits that a jail sentence of four to five years is more
appropriate given the mitigating factors of the guilty plea, Aamusie’s
young age, his lack of a criminal record, and his substance abuse and
mental health problems.

[44] Both counsel submit that the time Aamusie has spent in custody since
his arrest should be taken off his sentence at an enhanced rate of one
and a half days for every day served.

VIII. ANALYSIS

[45] Attempted murder is one of the most serious offences in criminal law.
Historically, courts have often imposed sentences for attempted
murder that are more severe than in cases of manslaughter. This is
due to the singular importance that the law places on a person’s
intention to kill another human being.

[46] As Lamer CJ of the Supreme Court of Canada pointed out in the 1990
case R v Logan, an attempted murderer is quite simply a “lucky
murderer”. The stigma associated with a conviction for attempted
murder is the same as for murder. The attempted murderer is no less
a killer than a murderer: he is lucky the knife did not hit an artery or
pierce a vital organ, but his intent was the same.
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[47] Indeed, this case involves a clear intent to kill: Aamusie stabbed KL
repeatedly in the chest and back and aimed for KL’s neck. A
conviction for attempted murder does not automatically result in a life
sentence as with a murder conviction. However, attempted murder is
punishable by life in prison. The penalty is almost always a lengthy
penitentiary term.8

[48] Even so, there is still a wide range of sentences for attempted murder
because there are many different circumstances that can result in
such a conviction.9 In some cases, there are no injuries, and the
victim is not even aware of the attempt. In other cases, such as the
one before me, the injuries are serious. Some cases involve extensive
planning, and others are more impulsive.10

[49] Several aggravating factors place this case at the more serious end of
the spectrum. The attack was unprovoked, and a deadly weapon was
used. The victim was an innocent boy working as a cashier in one of
the few public gathering places in a small community. Aamusie
stabbed vulnerable areas of KL’s body: he attacked KL’s chest, back,
abdomen, and neck repeatedly and relentlessly. Even though others
attempted to stop him, he persisted, chasing KL down a shopping
aisle after the initial stabbings, then stabbing him in the back, pinning
him, and repeatedly stabbing him again.

[50] The 15 separate and significant stab wounds are a physical

manifestation of Aamusie’s concerted and sustained effort to kill KL.
Without the heroic intervention of CO-OP store employees and
customers, Aamusie likely would have killed KL.

[51] The profound impact of the attack on KL and his family is also an
aggravating factor.

[52] Despite Aamusie’s lack of a criminal record, he has a troubling and

significant history of violence and assaultive use of weapons,
particularly when he is under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. At
the time of the offence, Aamusie was aware of his proclivity to be
extremely violent when he abused drugs. His knowledge that there
was a chance he would exhibit extreme violence increases his moral
culpability in relation to this attack committed while on drugs.

8 R v Logan, 1990 CanLII 84 (SCC), [1990] 2 SCR 731 at 399-400; Regina v McArthur (2004),
182 CCC (3d) 230 (Ont CA) at 241.
9 R v Aqqiaruq, 2018 NUCJ 5.
10 R v Ljeskovica, 2008 CanLII 63569 (ONSC)
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IX. PRINCIPLES OF SENTENCING

[53] The paramount principle of sentencing in this case is denunciation.

The Court must impose a sentence that clearly reflects society’s
condemnation of the crime. The sentence imposed must also deter
others from committing similar offences by communicating that a
significant jail sentence will result if they do.11 The message must be
sent that people are responsible for their conduct, even when heavily
intoxicated by drugs or alcohol. This is a serious crime which requires
that the offender be separated from society, both for public safety and
rehabilitation.12

[54] Aamusie is a young Indigenous man with no prior criminal

convictions. As with all Indigenous offenders I must consider Gladue
factors, which are the unique systemic or background factors which
may have played a part in bringing Aamusie before the court.13 The
factors present in this case are Aamusie’s drug and alcohol abuse, his
mental health struggles, his troubled relationship with his father (as
well as his father’s substance abuse issues and history of
incarceration), as well as the fact his relationship with his mother was
severed at a very young age.

[55] I must pay particular attention to the circumstances of this Indigenous

offender.14 Gladue requires me to consider the types of sentencing
procedures and sanctions which may be appropriate for Aamusie
because of his Inuit heritage.15 Given the nature of the offence, there
are no available sanctions other than imprisonment for Aamusie. In
addition, the more violent and serious the offence the more likely it is
as a practical reality that the terms of imprisonment for Indigenous
and non-Indigenous individuals will be close to each other or the
same, even taking into account their different concepts of
sentencing.16

11 See s. 718(a) and (b) of the Criminal Code.

12 See s. 718(c) and (d) of the Criminal Code.
13 See s. 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code.
14 R v Gladue, [1999] 1 SCR 688 at para 96.
15 Ibid at para 93.
16 Ibid at para 79.
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[56] This does not mean that I should ignore Aamusie’s unique situation
as an Indigenous offender. However, I am obliged to exercise my
discretion as to the appropriate sentence, having regard to all relevant
considerations. Given the severity of Aamusie’s offence, the
protection of society is paramount, and a lengthy custodial sentence
is required.17

X. CONCLUSION

[57] The Crown’s position is fair, firm, and measured. It considers the
aggravating factors in the case, as well as the mitigating factors of the
guilty plea, the lack of previous convictions, mental health concerns,
and Gladue factors.

[58] If there is no alternative to incarceration, and I have concluded that

there is not, Gladue requires that I carefully consider the length of the
term.18 I have done so. Given the particularly aggravating facts in this
case, Aamusie could have received a much lengthier jail sentence
than the one sought by the Crown. This is one of the most disturbing
cases of violence that has come before me as a judge in Nunavut.

[59] Stand up Mr. Qaqasiq: I sentence you to 7 years jail, or 2555 days. I
subtract from this sentence your pre-sentence custody of 924 days at
a 1.5 to one ratio for a total of 1386 days. Accordingly, the sentence
from today is a further 1,169 days jail, or approximately 3 years and 3
months.

[60] There will be a DNA order which is mandatory. There will be a 10-
year firearms prohibition order pursuant to s. 109 of the Criminal
Code. There will be a forfeiture order of the knife used in the attack. I
waive the victim fine surcharge due to hardship.

[61] Aamusie, you committed one of the most serious offences in criminal
law and are now facing the consequences. The court appreciates that
you took responsibility for your crime via your guilty plea and was
pleased to hear that you have completed an anger management and
substance abuse program while in custody. The court hopes that you
can continue to get the help you need for whatever issues you may
have while you serve the remainder of your jail sentence.

17 R v Ipeelee, 2012 SCC 13 at paras 129-130.

18 Gladue, supra note 14 at para 93.
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[62] The court further hopes for your sake and the sake of others that
when you are released from custody you never hurt another person
again.

[63] I thank counsel for their able assistance with this difficult case.

Dated at the City of Iqaluit this 27th day of October, 2020

___________________
Justice C. Lyons
Nunavut Court of Justice