Canada Case Law

1063466 B.C. Ltd. v. 1286121 B.C. Ltd.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Registrar's report is approved; on the evidence there is a real risk that existing equity in other properties will not satisfy the judgment and the petitioner faces prejudice from further dilution, therefore the court ordered sale of the non‑residence Gaba Properties (144 Street and 49 Avenue) with exclusive conduct by the petitioner and sale by realtor, dispensed COEA advertising, while deferring sale of the Principal Residence for four months under s.96(2) COEA due to hardship and valuation uncertainty, with liberty to reapply thereafter.

Source excerpt

• Sale of land under coea
• Deferral of sale of principal residence
• Registrar's report approval
• Priority of judgments
• Evidence of property value
• Court conduct of sale

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Yuan v. Corus Entertainment Inc.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court refused to order disclosure of confidential source identities in an anti-SLAPP defamation application, finding disclosure unnecessary and overly prejudicial.

• Anti‑slapp
• Responsible communication
• Journalistic source confidentiality
• Disclosure
• Weighing relevance vs prejudice
• Chambers procedure (rule 22-1)

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Bank of Montreal v. The King

Court

Tax Court of Canada

The Tax Court held that interest paid on overdue U.S. tax liabilities was not deductible under section 9 and paragraph 18(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act.

• Deductibility of interest
• Paragraph 18(1)(a) roenisch principle
• Foreign tax credit and section 126
• Section 9 income computation
• Rule 58 reference question
• Accurate picture principle (canderel)

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R. v. O’Grady

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

The Trial Judge erred in law by treating the CQT as something whose admissibility could be deferred to closing and by ruling that, absent a formal voir dire, the Crown was precluded from calling further evidence; admissibility must be decided mid-trial and if the CQT is inadmissible the Crown may prove its case by viva voce evidence of the qualified technician; the acquittal on s. 320.14(1)(b) is therefore set aside and a new trial ordered.

Source excerpt

• Certificate of qualified technician
• Admissibility
• Mid-trial ruling
• Voir dire
• Re-opening of crown case

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R. v. Daly

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

Although the trial judge made some errors in attributing delay (failing to allot any time to defence-caused resolution delay and in quantifying COVID knock-on delay), her contextual findings about court availability, defence availability, and the absence of evidence to quantify COVID impact were owed deference and the net delay nonetheless exceeded the Jordan ceiling; therefore the stay of proceedings was properly upheld.

Source excerpt

• Charter s.11(b) delay
• Stay of proceedings
• Jordan framework
• Defence delay allocation
• Judicial vacation
• Covid-19 exceptional circumstance

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Henry v. Zaitlen

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The appeal is allowed because the trial judge erred as a matter of law by departing from the presumptive 5% statutory prejudgment interest rate without properly treating that rate as the prima facie entitlement, failing to consider and balance all mandatory s.130(2) factors, and by accepting insufficient evidence that 'changes in market interest rates' justified a reduction; accordingly the prejudgment interest rate for the appellants' non-pecuniary damages is fixed at 5%.

Source excerpt

• Prejudgment interest
• Non-pecuniary damages
• Courts of justice act interpretation
• Rules of civil procedure r.53.10
• Exercise of judicial discretion s.130 cja
• Statutory interpretation

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Corriveau v. Canada (the King)

Court

Federal Court

The Federal Court granted a class-action discovery motion only in part, ordering particulars on allegedly inappropriate medical procedures and punitive damages, but refusing broader document and discovery requests.

• Systemic negligence
• Vicarious liability
• Sexual assault and battery
• Particulars and pleading
• Affidavit of documents
• Examination for discovery

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Palamarz v. British Columbia (Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General)

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Appeal dismissed. The court upheld findings that the bailiffs held valid PPSA warrants, the police officer lawfully kept the peace, and no negligence or trespass was proven.

• Negligence
• Trespass
• Repossession
• Personal property security act
• Rent distress act
• Standing

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Schwartz v. Collette

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

Because the motion judge expressly found the entire action was motivated by a desire to silence public interest expression and had concluded the defamation claims lacked substantial merit, the appeal court held that under the rationale of s.137.1 the entire proceeding must be dismissed; accordingly the appeal was allowed and the order below set aside.

Source excerpt

• Section 137.1 courts of justice act
• Public interest expression
• Striking out/summary dismissal
• Costs

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R. v. Nguyen

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The appeal is dismissed: the application judge did not err in her s.24(2) analysis or in concluding the apartment evidence need not be excluded despite the s.8 breach because the freeze was at the less serious end, the remedy for the unlawful arrest (exclusion of drugs found on the person) was proportionate, amplification of the ITO at Step 6 to correct drafting omissions was permissible, and there was no basis to exercise residual discretion to set aside the warrant because the affiant was unaware of the earlier Charter breaches and was not put on notice to make further inquiries.

Source excerpt

• Charter s.24(2) exclusion
• Section 8 search and seizure
• Section 9 arbitrary detention
• Section 10(a) right to be informed
• Search warrant validity
• Amplification of information to obtain (ito)

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