Canada Case Law

R v. D.C.

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

Applying the White Burgess two-stage test the judge found the proffered opinion narrowly met logical relevance but failed on necessity and the gatekeeping balancing: the marginal probative value was outweighed by risks of distraction, prejudice and a likely contested expert battle given competing schools of thought and deficiencies in the report; accordingly the opinion was excluded and Dr. Moore was not qualified as an expert for this matter.

Source excerpt

• Expert qualification
• Oath-helping
• Necessity (mohan/white burgess)
• Gatekeeping and cost/benefit balancing
• Autobiographical memory of children
• Historical sexual assault

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R. v. J.D.C.

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

Given the aggravating factors — sexual abuse of a child aged 11–14, abuse of a position of trust, prolonged and escalating conduct including intercourse and oral sex, grooming, lack of remorse, and guidance from R. v. Friesen — a custodial sentence of 7 years for the s.151(a) conviction is proportionate and necessary to achieve denunciation and deterrence; the s.271 conviction is stayed under the Kineapple principle and ancillary relief sought by the Crown is granted.

Source excerpt

• Sentencing principles
• Denunciation and deterrence
• Abuse of position of trust
• Grooming
• Parity and proportionality
• Kineapple principle

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R v. Pardy

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

The sentencing judge failed to properly apply the Anthony-Cook public interest test when rejecting a true joint recommendation and instead evaluated the recommendation as if in an ordinary sentencing; that legal error was material and impacted the sentence, so the appeal court set aside the sentence and substituted the jointly recommended conditional sentence orders.

Source excerpt

• Anthony-cook public interest test
• Conditional sentence order
• Joint recommendation
• Error in principle
• Denunciation and deterrence
• Proportionality

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R. v. N.S.N.C.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court found the accused guilty of sexual assault and sexual interference against a child, and stayed the interference conviction under Kienapple.

• Sexual assault s.271
• Sexual interference s.151
• Credibility and delayed disclosure
• Timing of offence/landmarks
• Publication ban s.486.4
• Kienapple stay of conviction

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R. v. France

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The trial judge conducted a proper and detailed Gardiner hearing and her factual findings were open on the evidence; those findings, together with aggravating factors including the child's young age, breach of trust, assaults on the mother and neglect leading to death, justified the nine year sentence; the disparity with the mother's six year sentence was explicable and did not amount to error.

Source excerpt

• Unlawful act manslaughter
• Sentencing disparity
• Publication restriction (s.486.5)
• Assault
• Breach of trust
• Gardiner hearing

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Telford v. School District No.42 (Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows)

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The plaintiff alleged historic sexual abuse at Glenwood Elementary and claimed negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. The court found the evidence unreliable and dismissed the action.

• Standard of proof
• Credibility and reliability
• Historic sexual abuse
• Duty of care
• Causation
• Contemporaneous records

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R. v. E.J.T.M.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Trial judgment convicting the accused of sexual interference against two child complainants and staying sexual assault counts under Kienapple.

• Sexual assault
• Sexual interference (s.151)
• Similar fact evidence
• Credibility assessment
• Kienapple rule
• W.(d.) direction

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R. v. L.I.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Sentencing reasons for repeated assaults and sexual assault within a family, with the court emphasizing denunciation, deterrence, and abuse of trust.

• Sentencing
• Assault with a weapon
• Sexual assault
• Aggravating factors
• Victim impact
• Sexual-assault

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R. v. Goff

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Sentencing for sexual interference and sexual assault of two young girls. The court imposed 30-month concurrent sentences and mandatory ancillary orders.

• Sexual interference
• Sexual assault
• Position of trust
• Denunciation and deterrence
• Firearms prohibition
• Dna sample order

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B. v. B.

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal refused to set aside a default judgment in a civil abuse claim, finding the appellant’s default deliberate, his delay unexplained, and his proposed defence insufficient.

• Setting aside default judgment
• Default judgment under rule 25
• Assessment of damages
• Causation
• Limitation defence
• Residual judicial discretion

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