Where a firearm is seized by police and not tested for operability, the presence of ammunition found with the firearm cannot be treated as an aggravating factor in assessing the objective seriousness of a firearm possession offence. The evidentiary principle that a party who fails to adduce evidence within their capacity to produce cannot rely on the absence of that evidence applies in the sentencing context. Post-sentence disclosure of childhood sexual abuse and resulting PTSD, where the offender was previously unwilling to disclose, is admissible on resentence as evidence of progress towards rehabilitation.
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