MONTREAL — Lawyers for a Quebec man who killed two children and injured six others when he drove a city bus into a Montreal-area kindergarten in 2023 say it would be unconstitutional for a judge to declare him a high-risk offender.
A Quebec Superior Court hearing began this morning in Laval, Quebec for Pierre Nu-Saint-Amand, who was declared not criminally responsible for his actions due to mental illness in April.
The Crown is seeking to have Judge Eric Downes declare New St. Amant a high-risk offender, which would subject him to stricter rules while he is in custody at a mental hospital.
His lawyers argue that granting high-risk offender status to people found not to be criminally responsible violates several articles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In their legal briefing, they say high-risk status suggests such criminals are beyond redemption and reinforces the “criminal lunatic” stereotype.
Downs ruled in April that New Saint-Amant was likely psychotic when he crashed into a bus at a daycare center, killing a four-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2025.
