An N.W.T. Territorial Court judge called it one of the worst drunk driving records he's seen in more than 20 years as a Northern judge.

On Tuesday Judge Michel Bourassa sentenced an Inuvik man to a year in jail for driving while drunk in Tuktoyaktuk. John Gully, 65, has also been banned from driving a motor vehicle for five years.

Gully's criminal record shows he has seven previous impaired driving convictions. Six were for driving with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit, and go back to 1979. He was also convicted for impaired driving charge in 1983.

Over that period of time, courts have fined Gully as much as $1,500 and sentenced him to as long as nine months in jail. The judge said these punishments don't seem to be working.

"It doesn't slow him down. He just keeps drinking and driving," Bourassa said.

The most recent charges date back to 2013 after police found Gully's car parked at the side of the road in Tuktoyaktuk.

The Crown said police found Gully at the wheel with the keys in the ignition. His eyes were glassy, his speech, slurred, according to Crown lawyer Wendy Miller.

Police had to help Gully out of the vehicle.

RCMP charged Gully with impaired driving and having control of a motor vehicle while impaired. Gully pleaded guilty to both charges.

Before handing down his sentence, the judge looked directly at Gully and said it was a miracle he hasn't injured anyone.

"You're not a bad man. But you're a drunk driver. You don't have to be a bad man to kill someone," Bourassa said.

Gully, a welder, told the court through his lawyer that he is a former residential school student and hasn't touched alcohol since the accident.

However, Gully said he doesn't know why he's addicted to alcohol.