Fundy Park meth maker sentenced to 3 years in prison

An Ontario man has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for producing methamphetamine at a cabin in Fundy National Park last June.

Marco Grenier, 39, was in provincial court in Moncton on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to 19 other charges, including possession of stolen property.

After hearing his fate, Grenier, who wore a green sweater over a navy collared shirt, wiped tears away as he turned and looked at his fiancée and was led away in shackles.

Corinda Belanger, 32, co-accused in the case, had previously pleaded guilty to producing meth. She has already served a six-month jail sentence.  

Safety concerns

Prosecutor Melanie Ferron asked for a three-year sentence, arguing Grenier was producing a highly addictive chemical drug that could have had dangerous consequences, including causing a fire or explosion. Ferron also stressed the safety concern for the public in or around the park at the time of the offence.

"The public, or people in general, should feel safe, especially going on vacation in a national park," she said.

Defence lawyer Martin Goguen argued for time served for all of Grenier's offences and probation. He said Grenier only produced a small quantity of meth that appeared to be for Grenier and his girlfriend and no one else.

"I don't have any evidence before me that it was for resale or for any of other reason," he said.

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Grenier listened attentively to Judge Camille Vautour during court and smiled occasionally at his fiancée, who was sitting in the court benches.

Vautour said he agreed with the Crown on the need for a stiffer penalty.

"You have to understand that this type of drug is very dangerous... if it doesn't kill people, if you keep on doing this for 20 years from now, if you're still alive, you'll probably feel like a 75-year-old man," Vautour said, citing his experience with offenders addicted to methamphetamine appearing before court.

"They are not there. Their brain is fried," he said.

Grenier was also sentenced to time-served on 19 other charges including fraud and breach of court orders, failure to appear in court, possession of instruments for breaking into coin-operated or currency exchange devices, and property offences in Ontario and Quebec dating back to 2014.

Vautour said he considered the totality of offences Grenier was facing when he imposed his sentence.

"I can't overlook the fact that you were wanted in another province, or in other provinces and you kept moving away and offences that dated in 2014 and 2015 you never came back and faced the music."

Emotional sentence

Grenier expressed remorse to Vautour.

"I accept responsibility for my actions and I've learned my lesson," Grenier said to the court. "Nothing will ever happen again."

Vautour said: "You have to understand that this type of drug is very dangerous.

Goguen told the judge Grenier is a family man with four children, has an engineering degree and wants to continue pursuing his studies. He and Belanger were also set to be married in the last few months, but they had to postpone their wedding due to the arrest.

Grenier has been in custody since his arrest June 12.

Surveillance and arrest

In June 2017, RCMP caught Grenier and Belanger with stolen goods, drugs and equipment to make meth.

In a statement Const. Cornelius Brown said the RCMP responded to reports of a domestic dispute in Fundy National Park.

Through an investigation it was determined that Belanger and Grenier were in possession of a stolen Lexus SUV.

"The police also discovered drugs and items used in producing illicit drugs, which investigators believed to be crystal meth," Brown said, which were sent for testing and confirmed to have been meth.

In court Wednesday, Vautour read through the facts of the case.

He said a constable surveilled a cottage where the couple had been staying. The officer watched for several hours throughout the night and said he saw Grenier leave the cabin every 10 to 15 minutes.

"Every time this person came out he had a bottle of something. He was continuously shaking, agitating something. He did this several times," Vautour said from the constable's testimony.

Vautour said the constable watched Grenier add other contents to the bottle, holding it at arm's length, swirling it around, and adding a funnel to the mix.

The couple was arrested the next morning.