Canada Case Law

Archibald v Rountree

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

The court exercised its discretion under Rule 77 to award solicitor-and-client costs to the father because the mother’s conduct — including relocating the children without consent, contributing to the father's report to CBSA and his deportation, making repeated unsubstantiated allegations and misrepresentations, and failing to comply with disclosure directions — constituted rare and exceptional misconduct that materially increased expense and delayed the father's in-person parenting time; accordingly the mother was ordered to pay 90% of the father's solicitor-and-client costs of $72,506.90 (i…

Source excerpt

• Parenting time
• Virtual parenting time
• Supervised visitation
• Decision-making authority
• Imputed income
• Section 7 expenses

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R. v. Hechavarria-Tapia

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The appeal is dismissed because the sentencing judge's findings that the appellant was intractable, unwilling to engage in treatment, and unlikely to comply with court orders are amply supported by the record and entitled to deference, and therefore the dangerous offender designation and indeterminate sentence were properly imposed under s.753.

Source excerpt

• Dangerous offender designation
• Indeterminate sentence
• Treatability
• Recidivism
• Probation compliance
• Appellate review of factual findings

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R. v. Albornoz-Vaca

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

On sentencing for sexual assault and attempted choking, the court imposed 31 months plus 4 consecutive months, then credited remand time for a 26-month global term.

• Sexual assault
• Attempted choking
• Denunciation and deterrence
• Remand credit
• Ancillary orders
• Publication ban

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R. v. Rahman

Court

Nova Scotia Court of Appeal

The motion for interim release was dismissed because the appellant failed to show a material change of circumstances from the earlier denials and did not discharge the burden under s.679(3), particularly the requirement to demonstrate he would surrender; impending parole or deportation did not establish entitlement to interim release.

Source excerpt

• Interim release pending appeal
• S.679 criminal code
• S.680 review
• Parole vs interim release
• Surrender requirement
• Material change of circumstances

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R. v. Morgenrood

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The sentencing judge did not err in principle in relation to deportation and the original sentence was not unreasonable on the record before him, but the appellate court may admit fresh evidence; given the newly introduced evidence demonstrating a formal deportation order and absence of support in Canada or South Africa, the court admitted the fresh evidence and reduced the custodial sentence to two years less a day (with credit for pre‑sentence custody) and imposed probation, because the enhanced record altered the weight of the deportation factor.

Source excerpt

• Aggravated assault
• Sentencing principles
• Fresh evidence on appeal
• Deportation as a sentencing factor
• Pre‑sentence custody credit

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R. v. Volk

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

Although the fresh evidence established the appellant has severe health problems and is ineligible for day parole, those facts were insufficient to demonstrate the original sentence was unfit; the likelihood of deportation and early release mitigates the claimed increased harshness, so the sentence is upheld.

Source excerpt

• Fresh evidence
• Day parole eligibility
• Deportation
• Fitness of sentence

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R. v. Spencer

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The trial judge erred by purity‑adjusting the weight to exclude the case from the Madden range and by relying on speculative or insufficiently mitigating factors (systemic bias, courier status, parity, delay, deportation risk, childcare) to justify a conditional sentence; the Madden range applied and a custodial sentence was required, leading to substitution of a 20‑month sentence on appeal.

Source excerpt

• Importation of cocaine
• Conditional sentence
• Sentencing ranges (madden)
• Purity and weight
• Mitigating factors
• Parity

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HMTQ v. Morgan

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Sentencing reasons for a sexual assault conviction: the court imposed a custodial sentence, credited pre-trial custody, and ordered DNA sampling and firearm prohibitions.

• Sexual assault
• Sentencing precedents
• Pre-trial custody credit
• Prior related convictions
• Dna order
• Firearm prohibition

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Ng v. Canada

Court

Federal Court

Judicial review of a National Parole Board appeal decision was dismissed. The Court upheld the Board’s broader view of “society,” found no Charter breach, and said programming complaints belonged to CSC.

• Judicial review
• Standard of review
• Parole
• Statutory interpretation
• Charter sections 7,15,27
• Programming/accessibility

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Prosko v. The King

Court

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada upheld Prosko’s murder conviction, holding that statements made to U.S. immigration detectives were voluntary and admissible, and that no reversible prejudice arose from the joint trial or exhibits.

• Voluntariness of statements
• Admissibility of confessions
• Separate trials/joinder
• Use of exhibits in circumstantial cases
• Use of deportation to secure custody
• Voluntariness-of-statements

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