THUNDER BAY — Tyler Blouin was described as a kind, funny and protective young man to a full courtroom on Thursday.
Blouin, 20, died as a result of a physical altercation in the area of Camelot and St. Paul streets around 2:30 a.m. on May 5, 2024.
Brady Nugent pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in the incident on May 5, 2024 and on Thursday in a Thunder Bay courtroom, details of the incident were heard during a sentencing hearing.
The Crown is seeking 10 years incarceration, while the defence is asking for five years.
Crown attorney Danielle Wood summarized the case as a senseless attack by a person with a troubled past, on a vulnerable person. She added that Nugent fled the scene and turned himself in the next day.
Wood said that the aggravating factors of the case include the fact that Nugent used a knife in a situation that those present understood as a fist fight. As well, Blouin was unarmed and therefore vulnerable, and Nugent fled the scene.
Defence lawyer George Joseph acknowledged the tension between various sentencing principles in any manslaughter case, which is difficult because a life has been lost. With regards to the moral blameworthiness in this case, he highlighted the fact that Nugent turned himself in and has expressed sincere remorse for his actions.
Joseph also summarized the traumatic past that Nugent said he is seeking help to overcome through programs accessed while he has been in custody the past 34 months. He emphasized the importance of Nugent’s sister in his life after they lost both parents in quick succession.
The court heard a victim impact statement read out by Blouin’s aunt, Serena Kenny. Kenny spoke about the deceased – a father of two sons, a grandson, a cousin, an uncle. She said he was funny, kind, protective, goofy and that his loss has had an extreme impact on a family struggling to come to terms with the curly-haired young man who is no longer here.
“Tyler was a First Nations youth. This loss does not exist in isolation,” said Kenny. Her nephew is one of many young First Nations people to die in Thunder Bay, said Kenny, adding her family has seen many others go through the pain of losing a young person, affecting how they feel about safety, justice and whether their lives are truly valued.
“Grief does not come and go. It stays,” she said, touching on the toll his death has taken on the family.
“It affects how we move through the world. We carry the pain of how Tyler died, of the moments he should have been here for.”
Kenny looked at Nugent and said, “Because of your actions, our nephew is gone. His children will grow up without their father. Our family is left with a pain that does not go away.”
To the court, she said “Tyler mattered. His life mattered. The impact of losing him is real and it is lasting. When you make your decision, we ask you to remember this is not just about an event. This is about a life that was taken and a family that will never be the same.”
Kenny also described the grief of the entire family: Blouin’s three younger siblings, who have had to watch their mother fall apart. She also mentioned Blouin’s great-grandparents, in their 80s, who carry a heartbreak, she said, that stays.
Nugent stood and issued his own apology and declaration of remorse.
“I cannot change my past actions and I have to live with that. I truly apologize to Tyler’s family, and my family.”
Justice Claudia Belda acknowledged the difficult day for all who attended, the care with which the Crown and the defence approached the case, and said that she would not rush a decision.
A date for her to return with her sentencing decision has not yet been set.
