THUNDER BAY - A Rocky Bay First Nation man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in the 2020 stabbing death of 29-year-old Paul Vivier has been sentenced to six years.
Denis Terry Bernard, 38, appeared before Justice Vince Scaramuzza in a Thunder Bay Courtroom on Wednesday for sentencing, having already pleaded guilty to manslaughter in February.
According to an agreed statement of facts previously read into the court record, police were called to a Cumberland Street hotel on May 30, 2020 just after 10 p.m. after receiving multiple 911 calls regarding a male who had been stabbed.
Police located the man, later identified as Vivier of Victoria, B.C., near a stairwell. Several women were also at the scene attempting to revive Vivier who had a weak pulse and shallow breathing.
Vivier was transported to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre where he was pronounced dead a short time later. The cause of death was determined to be a stab wound to the heart.
Witnesses in the area said Vivier was assaulted by three men, including Bernard, Seandi Clarke-Noel of Whitby, Ont., and a 16-year-old Toronto youth. The men were heard asking Vivier about money relating to a drug debt.
Bernard was given a knife and directed to stab Vivier and he did so once in the chest. There were numerous witnesses to the assault who identified Bernard as the one who stabbed Vivier. The knife was not recovered by police.
During the sentencing hearing, Crown attorney, Jane-Ann McGill, read into the court record a victim impact statement from Vivier’s mother who detailed how the loss of her son has affected her and the entire family.
“The night the police came to my door to tell me my son was dead was the night I lost everything,” she wrote. “When you are a parent, your child is everything.”
Vivier’s mother went on to say that he died before having a chance to marry his fiancé and leaves behind a son who continues to struggle with the loss of his father, as well as several siblings.
“There is not a day I don’t feel the loss of my son,” she said. “There are no moments in the day when I don’t feel like my heart is broken.”
Defense counsel Tyler Woods said Bernard was born in Rocky Bay First Nation and has experienced a loss of community and family, as well as growing up in an environment fraught with substance abuse.
Woods acknowledged that Bernard has a lengthy criminal record, though no convictions related to violence since 2014.
“It’s a difficult scenario,” Woods said. “Mr. Bernard and all the other players in this particular event were actively engaged in a subculture beyond what I can describe. It is a difficult environment in which to live where a lot of bad things happen.”
Woods added that Bernard’s past struggles or the lifestyle he was living does not justify his actions, but it does provide an environment for which it occurred.
“Mr. Bernard is accepting responsibility for his role in the event,” Woods said. “It is something he will have to resolve as the years go by. He tells me it haunts him. It was not something thought out or contemplated at the time.”
When given the opportunity to speak, Bernard said what happened the night of May 30 was out of character.
“Drugs messed me up. I got in a situation I was basically just under control of the people I was surrounded with and I did a stupid thing and I’m really sorry it happened,” he told the court.
“I’m sorry someone had to die because I wanted to get high. I think about what happened every day. I may not look like a guy who has remorse, but I feel it and I’m sorry.”
In the Crown’s submission, McGill referenced the profound loss Vivier’s family continues to experience following his death and reminded Justice Scaramuzza that Bernard was the one who ended Vivier’s life.
“You are aware of the facts that Bernard was handed a knife and told to stab Mr. Vivier and he did and that action caused his death,” she said. “It seems to be a very cold-blooded type of situation where he stabbed someone over a drug debt.”
Justice Scaramuzza called the matter very serious and said Bernard has changed people’s lives because of his actions over a drug debt.
He also referred to Bernard’s criminal record, which included several offences relating to violence between 1997 and 2014.
“This is extreme violence,” Justice Scaramuzza said. “You have been involved in a culture in Thunder Bay that none of us can appreciate or understand and ultimately being involved in that culture led to this event over a drug debt.”
Justice Scaramuzza also told Bernard to remember the words from Vivier’s mother and the impact his loss has had on the family and how his involvement will impact his family as well.
“You are being taken away from our community because of what you have done but the loss you have caused will never be replaced to the family of Paul Vivier,” he said.
There were several mitigating factors taken into consideration by Justice Scaramuzza, including Bernard’s plea of guilt and his expressions of remorse.
“You have saved the court resources and saved the family and other witnesses from testifying in court,” he said. “You have indicated that this matter was out of character for you. I don’t know if I believe you. Yes, you haven’t killed anyone before but there is violence on your record.”
Justice Scaramuzza accepted the joint submission of a global sentence of six years. Bernard has spent 600 days in pre-sentence custody, enhanced at a rate of two-to-one to 1,200 days due to conditions in custody during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving him with 990 days to serve, or just under three years.
Bernard will also be required to submit a DNA sample, is subject to a lifetime weapons prohibition, and is to have no contact with the co-accused to any member of VIvier’s family.
The youth involved in the matter pleaded guilty to manslaughter in August 2021 and was sentenced to nine months pre-sentence custody, as well as two years probation. The youth was also required to submit a DNA sample and is subject to a 10-year weapons prohibition.
Clarke-Noel, 19-years-old at the time of the offence, was also charged with second-degree murder for his alleged role in Vivier’s death and he is to make his next court appearance later this month.
