Canada Case Law

R. v. Lekhraj

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The convictions were set aside because the trial judge, in assessing credibility integral to conviction, relied in part on the appellant's character and discreditable conduct revealed in group chat messages in a manner that constituted prejudicial propensity reasoning; however the dismissal of the s.11(b) application was upheld because the complainant's illness constituted a discrete exceptional circumstance that mitigated the delay and the appellant's late filing weighed against a stay.

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• Sexual assault
• Child pornography
• Right to be tried within a reasonable time
• Propensity evidence
• Credibility assessment

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Canada (Attorney General) v. Canadian Civil Liberties Association

Court

Federal Court of Appeal

The Court dismissed the appeals and upheld the Federal Court’s core conclusions: the GIC/Cabinet’s Proclamation was unreasonable and ultra vires because the statutory thresholds in the Emergencies Act were not satisfied (no reasonable grounds that threats to the security of Canada existed under CSIS Act s.2 and no national emergency exceeding provincial capacity or not amenable to other laws); the Regulations were overbroad and unjustifiably infringed s.2(b) of the Charter; the Economic Order’s information‑sharing/search regime violated s.8 of the Charter and was not justified under s.1; the…

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• Emergencies act invocation
• Public order emergency
• Reasonableness standard of judicial review
• Standing
• Admissibility of poec evidence (rule 312)
• Freedom of expression s.2(b)

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British Columbia (Director of Civil Forfeiture) v. Norgan

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

La Cour a interdit la découverte sur la question de la qualité pour agir de M. Norgan en contexte de confiscation civile, en appliquant Jones à la phase Charte.

• Standing to raise charter challenges
• Examination for discovery
• Severance of issues
• Search and seizure
• Exclusion of evidence
• Compounding charter breaches

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R. v. Makortoff

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal dismissed a Charter appeal, holding that a 1 hour and 47 minute roadside detention for a narcotics dog search was not arbitrary under s. 9.

• Arbitrary detention
• Investigative detention
• Section 9 charter
• Section 24(2) charter exclusion
• Narcotics detection dog deployment
• Appellate review standards

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Banni v. Coast Foundation Society (1974) (Coast Mental Health)

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court dismissed the claims against BC Housing, struck most of the constitutional challenge as moot, and allowed only limited claims against Coast to be amended.

• Transitional housing
• Residential tenancy act s.4(f)
• Rule 9-5 striking pleadings
• Rule 9-6 summary judgment
• Breach of contract
• Duty of good faith

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R. v. Alexander

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court dismissed a s. 11(b) Charter stay application, finding the pre-arrest delay was not deductible but the adjournment to preserve a joint trial was.

• Section 11(b) unreasonable delay
• Jordan framework
• Defence delay vs crown due diligence
• Joint trial/adjournment as exceptional circumstance
• Section-11b-unreasonable-delay
• Jordan-framework

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John Howard Society of Saskatchewan v. Saskatchewan (Attorney General)

Court

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court held that Saskatchewan’s inmate discipline standard of proof, on a balance of probabilities, violates ss. 7 and 11(d) of the Charter for major disciplinary offences.

• Presumption of innocence
• Standard of proof
• Inmate disciplinary proceedings
• Disciplinary segregation
• Earned remission
• Section 7 charter

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R. v. Truong

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

Although the trial judge erred in principle by failing to assess the s.10(b) and s.8 breaches cumulatively, a fresh s.24(2) analysis reveals the breaches, while serious, had minimal impact on the appellant's Charter interests because the handgun was lawfully discovered before the breaches and was not causally tainted; balancing Grant factors the handgun's admission would not bring the administration of justice into disrepute, so the appeal is dismissed.

Source excerpt

• Section 24(2) exclusion
• Section 10(b) right to counsel
• Section 8 search and seizure
• Search incident to arrest
• Grant factors

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Cambie Surgeries Corporation v. British Columbia (Attorney General)

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court applied the normal costs rule in this Charter costs application and ordered the Attorney General of British Columbia to recover trial costs from the Corporate Plaintiffs.

• Costs
• Public interest litigation
• Standing
• Section 7 charter
• Section 15 charter
• Medicare protection act

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R. v. Ifesimeshone

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The trial judge erred as a matter of law by misapprehending and misapplying the Debot factors and by effectively requiring direct corroboration of criminal activity; on the amplified record the issuing judge could reasonably have found the confidential sources' information to be compelling and sufficiently corroborated and a nexus to the Vaughan residence existed, so the warrants could have issued, the searches were lawfully authorized, there was no s.8 breach, and the acquittals were set aside with a new trial directed.

Source excerpt

• Search warrants
• Confidential informants
• Warrant review
• Reasonable and probable grounds
• Section 8 charter
• Section 24(2) exclusion

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