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