A man who shot his 36-year-old son to death during a fishing trip north of Fort St. James has been granted day parole.
Jacques Henri Seguin, 69, was sentenced in January to nearly four years in prison for the Aug. 16, 2013 death of Christopher Seguin.
According to a Nov. 10 Parole Board of Canada decision, Seguin has posed no problems while serving his time and poses a high potential for reintegration. Seguin took grief counselling after he was sentenced.
As such, the parole board members assigned to review the case also granted him full parole once he becomes eligible in May 2017.
Day parole means Seguin will be allowed to leave the institute or a halfway house for the day. No special conditions were imposed and Seguin was also granted overnight leave privileges.
Once full parole is invoked, he must still report to a parole officer until the end of his sentence.
Christopher suffered from a number of health disorders and syndromes, struggled with drug use, and "had sudden and irrational moods swings and had exhibited violent behaviour in the recent past."
On the day of the incident, they were barbecuing fish when Christopher became enraged for no apparent reason. Afraid for his own safety, Jacques shot him three times, doing so "without thinking."
The judge found the shots were not accidental but also determined he did not intend to kill his son.
It was recommended Seguin serve his time in a minimum security institute.
Seguin, who owned a cabin on Takla Lake, plans to return to Alberta where the rest of his family resides.
