Law360 Canada ( May 27, 2022, 4:44 PM EDT) -- Appeal by the Crown from a judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal declaring s745.51 of the Criminal Code unconstitutional and ordering that the 25-year parole ineligibility period for each of Bissonnette’s five murder convictions should served concurrently. On January 29, 2017, Bissonnette burst into the Great Mosque of Québec and, armed with a semi‑automatic rifle and a pistol, opened fire on worshippers who had gathered there for evening prayer. Six people were killed and five others seriously injured. Bissonnette pleaded guilty to the 12 charges laid against him, including six counts of first degree murder, an offence carrying an automatic sentenced of imprisonment for life. The Crown asked the court to apply s. 745.51 of the Criminal Code and sentence Bissonnette to six consecutive parole ineligibility periods of 25 years, for a total of 150 years. The trial judge held that s. 745.51 infringed ss.12 and 7 of the Charter and that it could not be saved under s.1. As a remedy for the unconstitutionality of the provision, he applied the technique of reading in and ordered Bissonnette to serve an ineligibility period of 40 years before applying for parole. The Court of Appeal held that the trial judge had usurped Parliament’s role in interpreting the provision as granting courts a discretion to choose the appropriate parole ineligibility period. The Court of Appeal declared s. 745.51 unconstitutional, with the declaration to take effect immediately, and ordered that Bissonnette serve a 25‑year parole ineligibility period on each count, to be served concurrently....