13.11°C Vancouver

Mar 25, 2025 7:14 PM - The Canadian Press

Judge's illness delays sentencing for parents guilty of Calgary toddler's death

Share On
judges-illness-delays-sentencing-for-parents-guilty-of-calgary-toddlers-death
Justice Glen Poelman told the court as the hearing was to start that he had been sick all weekend and wasn't well enough to proceed.

A sentencing hearing for a Calgary couple who killed their badly burned and emaciated toddler has been delayed because the judge fell ill. Sonya Pasqua and Michael Sinclair pleaded guilty to manslaughter in December after Gabriel Sinclair-Pasqua died in 2021 after suffering major burns to a third of his body.

Justice Glen Poelman told the court as the hearing was to start that he had been sick all weekend and wasn't well enough to proceed.

A new hearing date will be set on Friday. An agreed statement of facts says the 18-month-old's parents didn't seek medical treatment and tried to treat the burns with honey before he died from an infection and head trauma.

A pediatric surgeon has said the burns would have required emergency medical care and immediate hospitalization. Court heard the couple told officials different versions of how the boy was injured, including that he hit his head on a toilet and that he pulled a pot of boiling water off a stove.

Latest news

joly-commits-to-prioritizing-canadian-steel-aluminum-for-defence-infrastructure
CanadaJun 02, 2025

Joly commits to prioritizing Canadian steel, aluminum for defence, infrastructure

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly says Ottawa is committed to using Canadian steel and aluminum in national infrastructure and defence projects as President Donald Trump threatens to impose more tariffs. Joly met with aluminum industry leaders at a summit in Montreal on Sunday. Joly says the government is waiting to see if Trump follows through on his threat to increase steel and aluminum tariffs to 50 per cent through an executive order. The United Steelworkers union says it welcomes Joly's announcement. Union national director Marty Warren says his organization will be watching to ensure the f
canada-post-rejects-unions-request-for-binding-arbitration-to-end-labour-dispute
CanadaJun 02, 2025

Canada Post rejects union's request for binding arbitration to end labour dispute

Canada Post has rejected a request from the union representing about 55,000 of its workers to send their ongoing labour dispute to binding arbitration. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers made the request in a statement issued Saturday, saying it was inviting Canada Post to a fair, final and binding arbitration process to resolve negotiations that have dragged on for months without producing a new collective agreement. But the crown corporation dismissed the proposal in a response released on Sunday, saying it wants to "restore stability" to the postal service and arguing the union's request
firefighters-safely-evacuated-after-getting-trapped-by-northern-alberta-wildfire
FeaturedJun 02, 2025

Firefighters safely evacuated after getting trapped by northern Alberta wildfire

Crews battling a fire in northern Alberta are now safe after losing radio contact and took shelter from a runaway wildfire that's inching closer to the community. A spokesman for Forestry Minister Todd Loewen says two teams of firefighters are heading to Slave Lake after losing contact while they worked to battle a blaze west of Fort McMurray. The ministry says access to the area has been restored and it is relieved that the firefighters were unharmed. An earlier social media post from Loewen says one group took shelter at the local fire station near Chipewyan Lake, while another h
road-accident-in-northern-nigeria-kills-22-athletes-returning-from-a-sports-festival
WorldJun 02, 2025

Road accident in northern Nigeria kills 22 athletes returning from a sports festival

A bus veered off a bridge in Nigeria's northern state of Kano, killing at least 22 athletes returning home from a sports festival and leaving several other passengers injured, the state's governor said. The cause of the accident, which happened on Saturday, was not immediately known. The athletes had taken part in the Nigerian National Sports Festival in the southern state of Ogun over the last week. The driver appeared to lose control of the bus and the vehicle, with over 30 passengers, plunged off the Chiromawa Bridge on the Kano-Zaria expressway, according to Abba Kabir Yusuf, the governor
charges-laid-in-vancouvers-crab-park-homicide
BCMay 30, 2025

Charges laid in Vancouver's Crab Park homicide

A Vancouver Police homicide investigation has led to the arrest of a suspect in the murder of a man in Crab Park in March. Brett MacDonald, 51, was shot on the north-west side of Crab Park along the gravel path just before 8:30 a.m. on March 22. He was found by a passerby who called police. Jason Hnatyshyn, 47, was arrested on April 10 in Red Deer, Alberta, by VPD homicide detectives. The BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against Hnatyshyn. He remains in custody until his next court appearance.

Related News