Canada Case Law

Axion Ventures Inc. v. Bonner

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The application to disqualify WT was dismissed because the evidence did not establish wilful blindness or intentional misleading of the court, lead counsel was not shown to be a likely material witness at this stage, and there is no private duty owed by counsel to opposing parties; removal mid‑trial would unjustifiably deprive Axion of its choice of counsel and delay the trial. Disqualification may be revisited if new evidence shows counsel will give material testimony or the court was misled.

Source excerpt

• Counsel disqualification
• Wilful blindness
• Document production
• Duty to the court
• Counsel as witness
• Spoliation

Read case analysis

R. v. C.R.V.

Court

Nova Scotia Court of Appeal

The motion to extend time was dismissed because the applicant failed to establish when he formed a bona fide intention to appeal, provided no adequate medical or factual excuse for the lengthy delay given his demonstrated capacity to work and manage affairs, the delay caused prejudice to finality, and the proposed appeal lacked arguable merit since the sentence appealed was the product of a joint recommendation the applicant instructed counsel to pursue and he did not seek relief on disclosure at trial.

Source excerpt

• Extension of time for appeal
• Joint sentencing recommendation
• Post-conviction disclosure
• Prejudice and finality
• Bona fide intention to appeal
• Section 7 charter issues

Read case analysis

Windrem v. Beck

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

Because the payor persistently and deliberately failed to provide mandatory disclosure over many years, the court drew adverse inferences, imputed annual income of $390,330 (CAD) to the payor, found a material change in circumstances, awarded retroactive child support to January 1, 2022, ordered ongoing monthly table support of $9,842 plus proportionate s.7 university expenses, directed retroactive payments at $2,000/month through Maintenance Enforcement, and awarded solicitor and client costs of $22,933.46.

Source excerpt

• Imputation of income
• Retroactive child support
• Adverse inference
• Costs for non-disclosure
• Section 7 special expenses

Read case analysis

R. v. Hawco

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Post-conviction disclosure application in a sexual assault case. The court held the unredacted statement and DVD were prima facie disclosable, subject to relevancy review.

• Crown disclosure
• Stinchcombe duty
• Mills regime
• S.278.1 definition of record
• Relevancy review
• Waiver of privacy

Read case analysis

R. v. Bouvette

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

Fresh evidence of material non-disclosure led the Court of Appeal to set aside Tammy Marion Bouvette’s guilty plea and conviction and enter a stay of proceedings.

• Guilty plea validity
• Material non-disclosure
• Fresh evidence admission
• Judicial stay for abuse of process
• Acquittal vs new trial
• Expert reliability

Read case analysis

Deisman v. Paddle

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court set aside a family law consent order for mistake, declined to impute income to either party, and ordered retroactive support recalculation on tax-line incomes.

• Setting aside consent orders
• Imputation of income
• Retroactive support calculation
• S.213 family law act fines
• Variation of separation agreement
• Disclosure and non‑disclosure

Read case analysis

R. v. Noddle

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal for British Columbia dismissed Mr. Noddle’s application to reopen his appeal, finding no basis to reinstate an appeal previously dismissed for delay and want of prosecution.

• Reinstatement of appeal
• Extension of time
• Crown disclosure
• S.684 appointment of counsel
• Criminal harassment
• Want of prosecution

Read case analysis

R. v. Li

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal dismissed Wei Li’s application to extend time to appeal his arson conviction, holding the proposed grounds lacked merit and no interests-of-justice basis was shown.

• Extension of time
• Conviction appeal
• Prosecutorial disclosure
• Vetrovec warning
• State-funded counsel s.684
• Ineffective assistance of counsel

Read case analysis

R. v. Latimer

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court partially granted disclosure applications in a criminal prosecution, ordering production or re-review of several withheld email categories and requiring clearer descriptors, while rejecting a blanket request for all emails.

• Stinchcombe disclosure
• Laporte list
• Email disclosure review
• V4 category classifications (duplicate, work product, tasking, resourcing, admin)
• Part vi authorization / chesson issues
• Wiretap/ito

Read case analysis

R. v. Latimer

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court set firm disclosure deadlines in a criminal case management ruling, finding prolonged delays in Project Territory/VPD disclosure unacceptable.

• Disclosure deadlines
• Stinchcombe disclosure
• Cpd-3 compliance
• Electronic communications review
• Laporte list
• Criminal-disclosure

Read case analysis