House arrest sentence gives Nunavut man a second chance
“We need him. His family needs him”
A Nunavut man convicted of assaulting and pointing a firearm at his domestic partner when demanding marijuana got a second chance last fall, when a judge ordered him to serve six months under a form of house arrest. (File photo)
A Nunavut man convicted of assaulting and pointing a firearm at his domestic partner when demanding marijuana got a second chance last fall, when a judge ordered him to serve six months under a form of house arrest.
Brian Metuq, 25, of Qikiqtarjuaq, had pleaded guilty last September to two counts of assault, one count of uttering threats, one count of pointing a firearm and one count of breaching conditions, Justice Gregory Mulligan said last September in an oral judgement that was released in writing last week.
Metuq committed those offences last year during two separate incidents. In the first, in February 2018, he assaulted his domestic partner, pushed his daughter and made threats.
In the second, he entered his partner’s home and pointed a gun at her, “looking for weed,” Mulligan said.
“He pointed a firearm at her and expressed suicidal thoughts. This matter ended without further incident and without the tragic ending that could have resulted,” he said.
Following Metuq’s guilty pleas, Crown lawyer Roman Dzioba asked Mulligan to impose a 160-day jail sentence followed by 12 months of probation.
Defence lawyer Julie Bedford, on the other hand, proposed a six-month conditional sentence of house arrest followed by probation.
After looking at a pre-sentence report that he described as “positive in terms of the prospects for rehabilitation,” Mulligan sided with the defence.
He ordered that Metuq spend six months under house arrest at the home of his aunt and uncle in Iqaluit, under whose recent guidance he has been making “real progress.”
The pre-sentence report said Metuq went to school as far as Grade 10, but spent most of life on the land with his grandfather, hunting, fishing and camping.
But when his grandfather died, Metuq took a turn for the worse.
“The passing of his grandfather appears to have been a life altering event in his life. He became addicted to marijuana, and for a time he had suicidal thoughts,” Mulligan said in his judgment.
But now that he’s out of Qikiqtarjuaq and under the care of his aunt and uncle, Metuq has done better, Mulligan said.
“He has been away from the community for about four months. Mr. Metuq has seen counselling for mental health issues and seems to have broken his addiction to marijuana,” Mulligan said.
For the six-month period of his house arrest, he’s allowed out of the house twice a week for up two hours to do personal errands or shopping. On those outings, either his aunt or his uncle must accompany him, Mulligan said.
He’s also allowed out for work, education or training, and he is allowed telephone access to his partner and their children with his partner’s consent, Mulligan said.
And in support of this sentence, Mulligan quoted from the victim impact statement that Metuq’s partner submitted.
“We need him. His family needs him. I believe he can change and learn to manage his anger,” she told the court.
R. V. Metuq, 2018 Nucj 25 by on Scribd
Pointing a firearm at your spouse and demanding weed and you still get to hang out with your family in your own house?? a made in Nunavut story if I ever heard one…good God…
Men are always the victim, oh, he was raised that way, boo hoo, kids and spouse lived a life too, are still living, these men seriously need to be spanked hard! This man and the father of my kids, rolling my eyes!
enough of the slap on the wrist, boohoo I had a harsh childhood and this intergenerational trauma makes my booboo hurt.
the lawyers are working the system and when are Our Judges going to punish those who should be put away?
who would push their innocent Child and point a firearm in their presence because they want some drugs?
you see, weed is not your innocent plant. look at what it does to some addicts! wake up people.
There are many Women who are very forgiving of their Spouses in Nunavut.
Many Women are controlled by their Spouses in every way, some poor Individuals go through daily abuse for a long long time, sometimes their whole lives!
Some Ladies get out of their toxic relationships, some just hang on for 1 reason or another.
In this day and age like the 3 commenters here, we do not have to live with abuse in ours and our children’s lives. THE CHILDREN ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT BEINGS as a Mother. Protect them from harm and evil. This guys grandfather did that for him and he has not learned from it?!
My granddaughter is a teenager, if and when she gets into a relationship, I hope she never has to feel the pain of being hit by a partner. This is the day and age where abuse of any kind is not tolerated, our parents/grandparents tolerated it, we do not have to follow what they went through because we are living in a modern day and age.
All I can say to Metuq is I am glad you are not taking marijuana as indicated, I am so proud of all who do not take this addictive substance. There is more important stuff to buy than Weed.
The woman seems to be trapped in a cycle of abuse. Young lady, you do not need someone who is willing to point a gun at you for weed, abuse you and push your daughter.
So the courts sentence people for house arrest when pointing a firearm at a woman, he would not have gotten house arrest if that gun was pointed at an officer. Who’s life is worth more? Time to put him in jail.