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HALIFAX — An aboriginal man who sought a conditional sentence for several gun convictions has been instead jailed by a judge who said the man’s crimes outweighed considerations about his background.

Stephen James Power, 24, was convicted of gun possession charges after police found an SKS rifle, a .303 rifle and ammunition in the home he shared with his grandparents on the Millbrook Reserve in Sheet Harbour, N.S.

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Justice James Chipman this week sentenced Power to eight months in jail, even as he made it clear he was “mindful of the unique systemic and background factors which have played a part” in bringing Power before the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

“It is apparent that Mr. Power has had a difficult upbringing,” Chipman said. “At age 16, he lost his father. He has suffered racism in school and in the community, on account of his aboriginal status.”

Power had planned to go hunting on the day of the police raid, Dec. 3, 2014. The guns were not restricted, but Power had no licence.