Citizens testify to the psychological impacts of the Brian Paré forest fires

Citizens of Chapais were heard Wednesday morning at the Chibougamau courthouse during representations on the sentence of Brian Paré, guilty of starting forest fires in the summer of 2023. Three witnesses spoke of the psychological impacts caused by his gestures and by the evacuation of the City which he initiated.

Remember that last January, the man pleaded guilty to 14 counts of intentionally causing fires in the Chapais sector in 2023. He was notably at the origin of the fire in the Cavan Lake sector , which forced the evacuation of 500 people in Chapais, in the heart of a summer with numerous naturally lit forest fires.

Psychological impacts

Among the witnesses who spoke, a man, who had been injured during the fire in Chapais on January 1, 1980, which caused the death of 48 people, spoke of the memories that came to the surface when he had to evacuate his residence in 2023.

My heart ached. I was freaking outhe testified.

A lady spoke of her anxiety attacks which have since forced her to take medication.

Even though Brian Paré has already pleaded guilty to the charges, the Crown wanted to call witnesses to raise awareness of the consequences of the actions he took.

The gentleman still admitted his guilt. […] So in this context, we do not necessarily need to have a trial, or therefore to present evidence to the court. So it is for this reason that it is important for us to still administer a certain proof in terms of representations on the sentence since the court, of course, does not have our fileexplained Marianne Girard, prosecutor at the Directorate of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP).

Economic impacts

The costs incurred by the Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU) relating to the Cavan Lake fire were also discussed. The bill would be $1.8 million for this fire alone, according to the organization.

The Timber Marketing Bureau (BMMB) estimates the loss of forest value at $2.4 million.

Due to the defense’s doubts, however, the expert witness had to admit that his calculation did not take into account the royalties that the company that harvested the burned wood subsequently had to pay to the government.

A difficult youth

Brian Paré also testified during the hearing. He spoke about his youth and the fact that he had lived in an environment where he had suffered psychological and physical violence, where he had also witnessed domestic violence.

He said he had been the victim of intimidation, bullying and harsh prison conditions in the past. Fellow inmates intimidated him and tried to set his bed on fire.

He read a letter from October 2023 where he expressed remorse for the judge and the prosecutors. He said that the media coverage of this issue had completely destroyed him.

He also recalled that there were no human casualties.

The defense is asking for 44 months in prison. Taking into account preventive imprisonment, this would allow him to avoid the penitentiary. This suggestion would therefore allow him to stay two years less a day behind bars in a provincial prison.

For its part, the Crown wants a penitentiary sentence, at the federal level.

Sentencing performances will continue Thursday.