Canada Case Law

R. v. C.P.

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The appeal is dismissed because the trial judge did not err: the Crown proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the appellant believed the complainant was under 16, was wilfully blind, or was reckless about her age; there was no air of reality to the mistake of age defence because the appellant took no reasonable steps to ascertain age; the trial judge’s credibility and reliability findings were open on the evidence; and the prior consistent statements were permissibly relied upon for corroboration and to rebut recent fabrication.

Source excerpt

• Sexual assault
• Sexual interference
• Mistake of age defence
• Credibility and reliability
• Prior consistent statements
• Publication ban

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Cassiar Jade Contracting Inc. v. Messmer

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Appeal from a Chief Gold Commissioner decision classifying a jade boulder as a placer mineral under the Mineral Tenure Act was dismissed.

• Definition of 'mineral' vs 'placer mineral'
• 'talus rock' statutory meaning
• Standards of review on appeal
• Evidentiary weighing of geological reports
• Jurisdiction of chief gold commissioner
• Costs

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LeRoy v. TimberWest Forest Corp.

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal alleging TimberWest conspired to cause a logging contractor’s failure to pressure union negotiations, finding no palpable and overriding error.

• Civil conspiracy
• Fraudulent misrepresentation
• Deceit
• Credibility and appellate review
• Standard of review (palpable and overriding error)
• Assignment of claims

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R. v. MacDonald

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

The trial judge committed reversible legal error by failing to consider the accused's due diligence defence and by applying a subjective/hybrid test rather than the required objective test to determine whether the dogs 'persistently disturbed the quiet of the neighbourhood'; those errors warrant setting aside the conviction and ordering a retrial.

Source excerpt

• Strict liability
• Due diligence defence
• Reasonable doubt (r. v. w.(d.))
• Standard of review
• Noise nuisance/neighbourhood disturbance

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R. v. Reischer

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding assault-with-a-weapon and firearms-storage convictions and rejecting the claim that self-defence should have been left.

• Assault with a weapon
• Unlawful confinement
• Self-defence under s.34(1)
• Storage of firearms regulations (sor/98-209)
• Reasonableness of verdict
• Credibility assessment

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R. v. Churchill

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court held that although the trial judge erred by referring to alcohol consumption after related acquittals, the remaining evidence supported the dangerous driving conviction.

• Dangerous driving
• Care and control
• Impaired driving
• Evidence admissibility
• Standard of appellate review under s.686
• Dangerous-driving

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