After a contentious parole hearing in Gravenhurst, near the Beaver Creek Institution, Marco Muzzo has been denied both day and full parole.

The board felt Muzzo sabotaged the progress he could have made by underestimating his alcohol misuse, if not abuse, said Kevin Corcoran, lead parole board member for Muzzo's hearing, adding ideally, the board would like him to participate in some kind of counselling.

"Before we can grant you parole, we need to have confidence that you will not be a risk to yourself and the community."

Muzzo was sentenced in March 2016 after admitting that he killed four people – a grandfather and his three grandchildren – after he slammed into their minivan on the way back from his bachelor party in Miami.

Following the crash there was a huge outcry from inside Canada and around the world because of the sheer loss of life and the age of the victims, including Daniel, 9, Harry, 5, Milly, 2. Also killed was Gary Neville. Badly injured were Jennifer Neville-Lake's mother, Neriza Neville, and grandmother Josefina Frias.

Muzzo was given the harshest impaired sentence for a first-time offender ever in Canada – 10 years.

Muzzo has served almost a third of his sentence and was applying for day parole, most likely meaning he will live in a halfway house. He is expected to apply for full parole May 2019.

Justice Michelle Fuerst said the sentence, among other things, was intended to "deter and denounce", but admitted it was "ill-suited" to make reparations for harm of the magnitude involved in the case.

"I appreciate that regardless of the length of the jail term that I impose today, the time will come when Mr. Muzzo will be released from custody," she told the court. "He will have the opportunity to return to his home, his work, and the company of those who love and support him. I am acutely aware that the Neville-Lake, Neville, and Frias families will be forever denied that opportunity. They will continue to serve the form of life sentence that Mr. Muzzo inflicted on them by his decision to drink and drive. The sad reality is that the sentence I impose today will not make whole the families who lost three children and their grandfather, nor will it return a grandmother and great-grandmother to good health."

More details to come.