Canada Case Law

R. v. Marchant

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Court dismissed the appeals against conviction: the appellants’ conduct—failing to recognize and treat a penetrating abdominal gunshot as a load-and-go trauma, participating in contraindicated lifts, and delaying transport—constituted multiple marked departures from the standard of care of reasonably trained primary care paramedics and negated a defence of a reasonably held mistake of fact. The Court granted Crown leave to appeal sentence but dismissed the sentence appeals and upheld the 18‑month conditional sentences.

Source excerpt

• Failure to provide necessaries of life (s.215)
• Mens rea — marked departure
• Paramedic protocols and load-and-go for penetrating trauma
• Mistake of fact defence
• Sentencing: deterrence and moral blameworthiness

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R. v. Kulcsar

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The British Columbia Supreme Court dismissed Mr. Kulcsar’s appeal from a conviction for careless handling and transport of a prohibited weapon under s. 86(1) of the Criminal Code.

• Careless use of a firearm
• Modified objective test for mens rea
• Public duty/innocent possession
• Lawful excuse under s.86(1)
• Standard of review
• Careless-use-of-firearm

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