A New Brunswick man who fatally shot three Mounties in Moncton in 2014 will now be able to apply for parole far sooner than the record-setting 75 years imposed by a judge after the triple slaying.
The New Brunswick Court of Appeal on Thursday reduced Justin Bourque’s parole ineligibility period to 25 years.
It based its ruling on last year’s Supreme Court of Canada decision involving Quebec City mosque shooter Alexandre Bissonnette, which struck down a law that made it possible for judges to extend parole ineligibility periods beyond 25 years for people convicted of multiple murders.
“The Supreme Court’s decision in Bissonnette makes the sentence imposed on Mr. Bourque one that is neither permitted by law nor constitutional,” New Brunswick’s Court of Appeal said. It added that the ruling by the country’s highest court is “binding on us” and governs the outcome of Bourque’s appeal….