‘A good person who has made an incredibly bad decision:’ Youth pleads guilty in pedestrian death
Teen sentenced to 2 years of probation and 100 hours of community service after August 2024 incident in Iqaluit
A teen pleaded guilty Friday to a charge of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death in the Aug. 10, 2024, death of a pedestrian in Iqaluit. (File photo)
Updated on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 10:15 a.m. ET.
An Iqaluit youth was sentenced Friday to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service after pleading guilty to dangerous driving that caused the death of a pedestrian last year.
“I know it may never be enough, but I want you to know that I’m so sorry,” the convicted teen said during the sentencing hearing, which was held in an Iqaluit courtroom.
She is under the age of 18 and cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
The teen cried as she addressed family members of Jemima Idlout, a woman who died in the incident.
Members of Idlout’s family cried as well. So did the teen’s family, sitting on the other side of the courtroom.
There were seven family members and friends of both Idlout and the female youth in the courtroom. Some sobbed as Crown prosecutor Mark Friedman read out the facts of the case.
The incident happened on Sivumugiaq Street, formerly known as Federal Road, in the early hours of Aug. 10.
Idlout, who was intoxicated with 320 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, was standing in the area of the road in front of the Aqsarniit Hotel & Conference Centre, blocking the road, Friedman said.
The teen was driving through the area at 75 km/h in a 40 km/h zone — 35 kilometres per hour over the speed limit in the area, Friedman said.
She hit Idlout shortly after 1:35 a.m.
The incident was a “departure from the standard of care of a reasonable driver,” Friedman said, while noting that after the collision she didn’t flee and was arrested at the scene.
“She is a good person who has made an incredibly bad decision,” said Marie-Josée Lafleur, the teen’s lawyer.
Lafleur emphasized that her client is a first-time, and likely a last-time, offender.
“I don’t think this is a person that the court will ever see again,” she said.
The teen’s mother spoke in the courtroom, saying her daughter has matured in the months after the incident and has hopes for the future.
“If that happened to anybody else, that would have been the reason for them to give up. But not her,” the mother said.
There were no victim impact statements from Idlout’s family.
She had a young son, who is now left without a mother. And her sister was so devastated by the death that she had a relapse and died of an overdose, leaving behind a daughter of her own, Friedman said.
Justice Vital Ouellette said that all that is enough of an impact statement from the family.
Friedman and Lafleur made a joint submission asking for two years of probation, 100 hours of community service that will be determined by her probation officer, and two and a half years of driving prohibition.
Ouellet agreed with the submission.
“I believe her remorse,” he said.
“She is not trying to shift the blame, which is very mature.”
Ouellet said that even though he doesn’t live in Iqaluit, he had seen that the incident had a “true impact” not only on the two families, but on the community as a whole.
“To everybody present, to the community, good luck going forward with the healing,” he said before concluding the session.
Correction: This article has been updated from its originally published version to accurately reflect what was said in court about the death of Jemima Idlout’s sister. It has also been updated to correct the judge’s name.
God, this sucks so much for everyone involved.
I hurt someone when I was young. I wasn’t driving, I was being stupid at work and caused an accident. That still weighs on me, even knowing that he holds no ill will against me. It crosses my mind at least once a day at work and is something I always try to consider when I’m making decisions.
I hope this young lady can take in the lesson that Justice Ouellet has given her the opportunity to learn.
What lesson?
What lesson? That she should slow down and consider how her actions impact others.
I see by the comments that, as usual, the masses want this kid’s blood.
The complete lack of consequences for the perpetrator doesn’t sit well with people given the profound and irreversible impacts of her actions. It’s not hard to understand.
She’ll experience the consequences of her choice every time she closes her eyes.
I understand the base desire for retribution and revenge. We shouldn’t pretend it has anything to do with Justice.
Such a tragic event and so avoidable. 2 young girls have lost their lives, and two young children are without a mother. Does the sentence justify this tragedy? A young and (I assume) new driver drives significantly over the speed limit, causing the death of a pedestrian, and indirectly of another individual. IMHO, the sentence does not cover the situation and its outcome. I understand that Justice cannot be fair all the time, but one family, especially the grandchildren, has to live with this for a very long time, while the other family was able to put an end to it. Remorseful or not, remaining on the accident scene, no criminal history, some tears, and bad choices.
Indeed, she made bad choices and should have been sentenced properly.
However, I wish for strength for the victim’s family, and that the future will bring out the sun again for you and the two girls.
Another failure from the Nunavut Court of Justice.. what a joke.
Exactly what I think! We need justice for Jemima!
Effectively a slap on the wrist, how sad.
Interesting that there’s more information regarding the physical state of the victim than the accused.
I’d also be interested in knowing the charges that the accused plead guilty to.
The charge she pleaded guilty to is provided in the very first sentence of the article: dangerous driving.
A difficult case for sure. One the one hand, this youth drove dangerously and killed someone as a result. On the other hand, she had no prior record, and it appeared to be a one time lapse in judgement with a horrible result. In a case like this, the better sentence in my view would have been a conditional sentence which is allowed under the youth law. It was important that a custody sentence be imposed to make clear the seriousness of what happened, and that a life was taken. But, allowing custody to be served at home would take into account that this was only one terrible mistake by the young person. Yes, a conditional sentence would have been a more balanced and fair sentence here.
It so sad that 2 children have no more mom
The owner of the vehicle should be held accountable as well
It was not mentioned but the driver should loose the driver’s license should not be able to drive for like 10 years
The vehicle should of been treated like a weapon as it was in a collision that killed a life
2 year’s probation
100 hours community work is a little to light
I knew Jemima, and she was an absolute sweetheart that was kind and friendly to everyone around her. I didn’t know her sister or hear about what happened to her. Honestly, what an absolute tragedy. Really, there is no other way to describe this. My heart goes out to the family. So sad.
If the perpetrator had been a young male would the sentence have been the same? Would the sentiments in the comments have been the same?
What do you think?
Working around law, I can tell a lot of people don’t understand youth matters and how people are legally convicted. When it comes to youth gender does not play a role.
I feel like you’ve completely missed the point of the question.
A lot of you are not understanding the youth sentencing, when it comes to youth, the sentencing plays a roll in how they are sentenced.
The luckily hood of a youth being sent to jail isn’t very likely.
The effects alcohol has on our community and people has been so destructive, so much pain and loss.
I wish alcohol could just disappear for ever, more harm than good is done with alcohol.
Inuit look at these justice and human resources and RCMP are doing. And they say they are professionals and certified and don’t do there work properly. They can be investigated too but the authorities are taking there power over inuit and they don’t understand how inuit are being treated. But if there is a threat to any of the government workplace, they would work on it right away and put the threats on there case. Have protest around justice departments, health authorities, and legal aide for better justification inuit.