MAN SENTENCED ON MARIJUANA, MAIL OFFENCES

A man who was seduced by the easy money of marijuana trafficking was
sentenced Tuesday at Saskatoon provincial court to 2 1/2 years in the
penitentiary.

Christopher D. Goodine, 33, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to
trafficking in a controlled substance and possession of property
obtained by crime. Each of those convictions earned 2 1/2 years, with
the sentences to be served concurrently.

Goodine, who had a contract to deliver mail to acreages around
Saskatoon, also pleaded guilty to delaying the mail.

Police who searched his rented acreage in April 2006 found more than
100 pieces of mail that had not been delivered, federal Crown
prosecutor Darrel Blais told Judge Ronald Bell.

Earlier this year, police checking him for compliance of release
conditions found 12.8 grams of marijuana in his pocket and a digital
scale with remnants of marijuana on it, Blais said. Goodine pleaded
guilty to possession of the marijuana and breaching his undertaking.
He was sentenced to time served -- two weeks on remand and a year on
electronic monitoring -- for those convictions and the Canada Post
offence.

His 1998 pickup truck was forfeited because he used it to transport
the marijuana.

"He got caught up in the attraction of profits one could realize in
bigger marijuana dealings," said his lawyer, Daryl Labach.

Goodine had agreed to let friends, who were importing large amounts of
marijuana from British Columbia, store their wares at his residence.
He also was involved in distributing the marijuana in suitcases to
smaller "retailers," Blais said.

When one of the main operators of the scheme was incarcerated on an
unrelated matter, Goodine became more involved, helping to plan
further distribution and offering to keep records of transactions,
Blais said.

An agent working with the integrated drug unit of the RCMP and
Saskatoon police recorded discussions among Goodine and others, some
of whom have yet to be tried in court, in which they planned
distribution of the marijuana and cannabis resin, Blais said.

As well on Tuesday, a woman who was one of the retailers selling the
marijuana pleaded guilty to trafficking in a controlled substance.

Corrine Mary Vermette was sentenced to a conditional sentence of two
years less one day. Vermette will be allowed to serve the sentence in
the community and must perform 150 hours of community service. She is
prohibited from having a cellphone or pager, must submit to random
searches by police and is prohibited from owning a firearm for 10 years.