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A Manitoba man could be spending the rest of his life in prison after a landmark Supreme Court decision found that by the simple act of threatening a drugstore clerk, he was essentially committing a violent act.

“All threats of violence are themselves violent, even though the seriousness of the violence may be quite limited,” read the unanimous ruling, which is expected to have wide-ranging implications on how Canada defines violent behaviour.

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“By threatening to harm his victims while committing robbery, [the defendant] used violence against them,” it read.

In 2010, career criminal John Steele concealed his face with a hoodie, walked into a Winnipeg drugstore and told the clerk, “give me the money. It’s a robbery. I have a gun.”

As per security camera footage of the robbery, Steele did not have a gun, but store staff took the threat as genuine and handed over the contents of the register.