Man who drove bus into Quebec daycare, killing 2 children, labelled high-risk accused

MONTREAL — The Quebec man found not criminally responsible for killing two children after driving a city bus into a Montreal-area daycare has been labelled by a judge a high-risk accused, a designation that imposes additional restrictions on his detention and treatment in hospital.

On Monday, Superior Court Justice Éric Downs also upheld the constitutionality of a section of the Criminal Code that permits offenders found not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder to be designated “high-risk,” rejecting arguments from the defence that the status reinforces stereotypes against the mentally ill.

Last April, Downs ruled that Pierre Ny St-Amand, 54, was not criminally responsible for the attack because the former city bus driver had likely been in psychosis when he crashed the vehicle into a daycare in Laval, Que., Montreal’s northern suburb. The crash killed four-year-old Jacob Gauthier and a five-year-old girl named Maëva, whose family name is covered by a publication ban at the request of her parents. Six other children were injured.

“The court grants the prosecutor’s request: it designates the accused as high-risk under the Criminal Code,” Downs said at the Laval courthouse.

“There is a marked probability that the accused will use violence in a manner that endangers the life or safety of another person … the acts that gave rise to the offences are of such a brutal nature that there is a risk of serious physical or psychological harm to another person.”

The high-risk status prevents St-Amand from leaving the psychiatric hospital where he is being detained except for medical reasons or for the purposes of his treatment. It also limits the decisions that the province’s mental health review board can make in his case. Any changes to his treatment plan or to the restrictions of his movements would need to be put before the Quebec Superior Court.

St-Amand has maintained he doesn’t remember what happened on the day of the crash. He will remain detained at the Philippe-Pinel psychiatric hospital in Montreal.

“The actions committed by the accused on Feb. 8, 2023, defy comprehension,” Downs said. “Young children perished, others were seriously injured. The Quebec community was shaken to its very core.”

Also Monday, Downs granted victim status to two dozen people, ensuring they’ll be able to take part in future mental health hearings involving the accused and make impact statements.

One of those granted status is Mélanie Goulet, whose daughter was pinned under the bus after the crash. She told reporters she felt a “certain relief” with Monday’s ruling.

“Everything concerning the court is now over …. It’s not over for us unfortunately, but it’s true that this chapter is closed.”

The Crown had sought a high-risk status for St-Amand, with prosecutors arguing that by requiring both the province’s mental health review board and the Superior Court to monitor the accused, there would be a two-step validation process to ensure the right decisions are taken in his case.

“I think everyone is breathing a sigh of relief this morning,” Crown prosecutor Simon Blais told reporters after the hearing. “This (status) is a double-checking process implemented for very rare cases where accused persons present a high potential for dangerousness.”

St-Amand’s lawyers, meanwhile, had argued the status was unconstitutional and reinforced stereotypes against the mentally ill. They had challenged the high-risk accused designation on grounds it violated three sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In his 103-page ruling on Monday, Downs upheld the constitutionality of the designation, which was adopted by the federal government in 2014 to ensure public safety. The designation is exceptional and takes into consideration a number of factors including expert opinions and judicial discretion.

The high-risk label “is temporary and revocable once the legal conditions are met,” Downs said, adding that while he found no violation of constitutional rights in the case, “the court remains aware that this is a restrictive regime for the rights of certain defendants found not criminally responsible.”

Downs also noted that St-Amand has shown “modest” progress recently. “It also appears that he has the capacity to eventually adhere to a strict treatment plan. Given his continued commitment to this process, the court encourages him to persevere in his treatment in order to meet the objectives of the medical team.”

St-Amand was born in Cambodia in 1972, shortly before the Khmer Rouge began a brutal rule that is blamed for the deaths of 1.7 million people. Both his parents died in the conflict, and he doesn’t know his real surname or birthday. In 1982, he was sent to Canada by a humanitarian agency and adopted by a Quebec family.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 16, 2026.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press