Law360 Canada ( March 12, 2026, 9:36 AM EDT) -- Appeal by Georgopoulos from a sentence of two and a half years’ imprisonment and a six-year driving prohibition imposed following his conviction for dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm. The appellant, a 42-year-old mortgage broker with no criminal record, was driving and while attempting to pass a streetcar, he accelerated from 52 km/h to 112 km/h in a 40 km/h zone without braking, striking a parked car, the streetcar and another vehicle. His passenger, Backer, sustained catastrophic injuries, including brain trauma, permanent seizure disorder and disfigurement, ending her career as a paramedic. The Crown sought a penitentiary term of two and a half to three years and a 10-year driving prohibition, and the appellant proposed a conditional sentence or intermittent jail and a four-year ban. The sentencing judge emphasized denunciation and deterrence, analogized the appellant’s conduct to recklessly discharging a firearm and noted Parliament’s 2018 amendments increasing maximum penalties for dangerous driving. She rejected treating the trial as akin to a guilty plea, found the appellant lacked full insight and imposed a six-year driving prohibition to commence upon release. On appeal, the appellant argued the judge erred by analogizing his conduct to firearm use; treating his trial testimony as aggravating; overemphasizing Criminal Code amendments and ignoring Bill C-5; failing to consider restraint and rehabilitation; and refusing credit for 41 months under a bail driving prohibition. He sought leave to appeal, a conditional sentence and reduction of the driving ban....