No jail time for B.C. man who drove through residential school march, hitting 4

A B.C. man convicted of dangerous driving after striking several people engaged in a march commemorating residential school survivors two years ago won’t spend time behind bars.

Richard Manuel was convicted in September, after hitting four people with his pickup truck during the June 4, 2022 procession in Mission, B.C. Two people suffered minor injuries.

On Monday, B.C. Provincial Court Judge Edna Ritchie accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence for a nine-month conditional sentence, to be served in the community. Manuel, who has since moved to Nova Scotia, was also handed a one-year, Canada-wide driving ban.

2:08 Closing arguments in trial of man accused of driving into Indigenous march

In her reasons for judgment, Ritchie noted that when Manuel came upon the march he was unwilling to be patient and instead drove dangerously, striking at least four people.

She also noted that Manuel used racial slurs and made derogatory remarks and that the incident had a profound effect on the victims.

Manuel also continued to drive in a dangerous manner after attempts to stop him, she said.

1:35 Man accused of driving into B.C. residential school march guilty of dangerous driving

“I’m satisfied Mr. Manuel is not a completely bad person,” Ritchie said. “But Mr. Manuel, you acted very badly that day.”

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Earlier in the hearing, Manuel told the court that he was “sorry this all happened,” but Ritchie said it was not clear whether he was truly remorseful or whether he was sorry about what he has gone through since the incident.

Ritchie also noted several mitigating factors, including that Manuel had no criminal record and that he did not wait for police to find him. She also took into account his age and the fact he had not been involved in any subsequent incidents.

“What happened that day is entirely out of character,” Manuel’s lawyer Christopher Terepocki told the court.

“He certainly doesn’t have a racist bone in his body.”

2:00 Victim of B.C. driver who struck residential school march happy with verdict

As a part of its submissions, the Crown entered victim impact statements from several of the people Manuel struck at the march.

Ashton Edwards, one of the march organizers, hasn’t planned any similar marches since out of fear a similar incident could happen, the court heard.

Since the incident, Troy Zelasko has been unable to find work as a traffic flagger and has had to seek other employment, according to his statement.

Jeremy Kaastra reported feeling attacked because of his Indigenous identity, and that he had both been physically and mentally affected, the court heard.

“In the end is he truly remorseful? You heard the judge say it herself: ‘I am not truly convinced you are remorseful for this.’ And he still gets to go home. Dude if I plowed through a crowd of people, you know what the different story would be,” Kaastra said outside the courthouse.

“I lost my job, I lost my friends, I lost my connection to my community because of what has happened. This has affected me severely in many ways, and this man gets to go home and spend time with those he loves? I don’t know, I don’t feel right about this at all.”

Under the sentence imposed Monday, Manuel will be under a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the first six months. He is also prohibited from consuming drugs or alcohol.