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Will the Supreme Court of Canada hear Richard Suter’s appeal?

Richard and Gayska Suter leaving the Edmonton law courts. File/Global News

The Supreme Court of Canada will say Thursday whether it will hear an appeal by Richard Suter of his 26-month sentence for crashing his SUV into an Edmonton patio, killing a young boy.

The court will announce its decision at 9:45 a.m. EST.

In December 2015, Suter was sentenced to four months in jail and a five-year driving suspension after he pleaded guilty to refusing to provide a breath sample after a collision causing death.

READ MORE: ‘This is your cross to bear’: mother of toddler killed on Edmonton patio 

The judge ruled that witnesses wrongly assumed that Suter was drunk after his vehicle plowed into the patio in May 2013.

READ MORE: ‘It just sunk me’: Man who crashed into Edmonton patio, killing toddler 

At his sentencing, Suter said he had consumed three drinks over the four hours before the crash but was not drunk. He said he had been arguing with his wife about a divorce and mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brakes of his SUV. His vehicle pinned two-year-old Geo Mounsef against a wall and killed him.

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Suter appealed the sentence in January 2016, arguing he should not be in jail or face such a long driving suspension. The Crown, which had initially recommended a three-year prison term, also filed an appeal, seeking a harsher sentence.

In August, the Crown’s appeal was allowed and Suter was slapped with a 26-month sentence, while his driving ban remaining unchanged.

In October, Suter’s lawyer appealed the sentence to the Supreme Court.

READ MORE: Edmonton man found guilty of cutting off Richard Suter’s thumb

With files from the Canadian Press

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