Nunavut man who incited 2018 jail riot sentenced to 33 months

A Nunavut judge has sentenced the man who “fanned the flames” of the 2018 riot at the Baffin Correctional Centre in Iqaluit to 33 months in prison.

In a decision released on April 28, Justice Paul Bychok sentenced Gary Arnaquq, 38, for “an extremely serious offence.”

Because of restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bychok delivered Arnaquq’s sentencing over the phone.

Arnaquq was charged with rioting, mischief to property valued at over $5,000, and uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, following a riot at BCC that caused significant damage to the jail’s Charlie unit, a medium-security cell block.

Following a trial at the Nunavut Court of Justice that lasted one and a half days, Justice Paul Bychok found Arnaquq guilty of the rioting and mischief charges, and not guilty of uttering threats.

Under the Criminal Code, participation in a riot carries a maximum sentence of two years, while causing property damage in excess of $5,000 carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

On the rioting charge, Bychok sentenced Arnaquq to 24 months, or 720 days in jail. On the property damage charge, he sentenced Arnaquq to 33 months, or 990 days. The sentences will be served concurrently, meaning a total sentence of 33 months.

Arnaquq was a serving prisoner at the time of the riot. That sentence finished on Oct. 23, 2019, and he then served 172 days of remand time, which are subtracted from his 33-month or 990-day sentence. That means Arnaquq will serve the remaining 818 days in a federal penitentiary.

Normally, Arnaquq would be entitled to 1.5 days for every day of remand time, which would be deducted from his new sentence.

But Bychok said Arnaquq will not receive that extra credit because he refused to attend court eight times, including during his trial.

The overnight riot ended on June 21, 2018, having lasted five-and-a-half hours, the RCMP said at the time. Twenty-six inmates were involved in the riot. Afterwards, 40 inmates were flown to correctional centres in the south, because the Iqaluit jail wasn’t able to house them due to damages caused during the riot.

Four witnesses, all corrections officers who worked at BCC during the riot or who were called in to help that night, testified at the trial.

Witnesses testified that Arnaquq had blocked guards from entering a dorm, ignored orders to disperse and had waved inmates on during the riot. One witness also testified he heard Arnaquq say, “Let’s get the staff, let’s get ‘em.”

Another witness testified that Arnaquq ordered other inmates to tear down Charlie unit.

Arnaquq was one of 11 inmates charged following the 2019 riot.

“Each offender has his own personal history. In this case, Mr. Arnaquq was charged with 10 other inmates each of whom had a different level of responsibility for what happened. The task of imposing a just sentence on an offender, therefore, is a highly individual exercise,” Bychok wrote.

In sentencing, the Criminal Code requires judges to consider aggravating factors, which work to increase the sentence, and mitigating factors, which work to lessen the sentence.

Bychok said there were no mitigating factors in this case.

Under aggravating factors, Bychok noted that Arnaquq had incited the riot, incited violence against the guards, failed to comply with Meade’s order to disperse [Michael Meade was a guard on duty on the evening of the riot and testified at the trial] and encouraged other inmates throughout the riot to trash the unit.

Bychok also noted Arnaquq’s criminal record, which includes 56 prior convictions and a previous sentence for a separate riot in 2017. Arnaquq has been in and out of BCC for 18 years, Bychok wrote.

“This court must send a clear message to all inmates that prison riots will not be tolerated and will result in strong penalties on conviction. But the court’s message must also be taken to heart by Mr. Arnaquq: this is the second time he is being sentenced for his participation in a jailhouse riot,” Bychok wrote.

Arnaquq’s actions during the riot put the safety of all inmates and staff at BCC at risk that night, Bychok said.

“Inmates are among the most vulnerable members of our society. Every aspect of their existence is monitored and regulated by the authorities. Above all else, inmates are entirely dependent upon the authorities for their health, safety and welfare. Mr. Arnaquq’s actions put the life and safety of every inmate in Charlie Unit in serious jeopardy that night,” Bychok wrote.

Bychok said his sentence also takes into account “the enormous post-riot costs to the Government of Nunavut” that “drained away precious, scarce, dollars needed to address our many pressing infrastructure deficits.”

In her sentencing submission, Mia Manocchio, Arnaquq’s lawyer, told the court about Arnaquq’s life. Born in Iqaluit and raised in Qikiqtarjuaq, he has a common-law spouse and three children.

“Mr. Arnaquq calls himself the black sheep of his family because he always gets into trouble,” she said.

Manocchio said she visited Arnaquq several times leading up to the trial and thought he “looked different” and was taking counselling for panic attacks.

Bychok had also spoken with Arnaquq.

“Mr. Arnaquq told me today that he is a changed man. He has started directed Bible study and Jesus has touched his heart. He stated he has stopped using drugs and is ‘trying to get out of violence.’ He stated he is finally ‘free’ of the devil and those earlier influences which ‘ruined my life.’ Unfortunately, he continued by trying to minimize his role in the riot,” Bychok wrote.

Bychok also said Arnaquq’s actions need to be measured against the principles of  Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.

“Mr. Arnaquq failed to observe Inuuqatigiitsiarniq—respecting others, relationships and caring for people. And he did so in the most serious of circumstances. The sentence I impose on Mr. Arnaquq must reflect that fact,” Bychok wrote.

Bychok also said his sentence must separate Arnaquq from the community.

“This sentence I am about to impose is consistent with traditional Inuit societal norms. When a person endangered the safety and security of the traditional group, a person could be—and sometimes was—banished. Many were later welcomed back into the group. Reconciliation and reintegration are hallmarks of Inuit society,” he wrote.

“Mr. Arnaquq told me in another sentencing hearing in September 2019, that ‘I am tired of fighting the system.’ I encouraged him that day to focus on getting on with his life; to try his best to earn the trust and respect of his community. Mr. Arnaquq will be released from jail. Everyone hopes he will return to the community chastened and wiser.”