Canada Case Law

Senan v. R.

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

The adjudicator erred by convicting under s.97(1) because the evidence supported obligations under s.97(3) and the subsections constitute distinct offences; although appellate amendment is permitted in principle, allowing the Crown to amend and enter a s.97(3) conviction on appeal would prejudice the appellant given his trial focus and unrepresented status, so the original conviction was dismissed and the amendment denied.

Source excerpt

• Failure to stop at scene
• Duty to exchange information
• Charge amendment on appeal
• Standard of review

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Peterson v. Ganji

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Liability-only motor vehicle trial over a left-turn collision at a signalized intersection. The court found both drivers negligent and apportioned fault 70/30 against the defendant.

• Left-turn collision
• Traffic signals (yellow/red)
• Dominant vs servient driver
• Immediate hazard
• Allocation of fault
• Accident reconstruction

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Yuen v. British Columbia (Superintendent of Motor Vehicles)

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court held that the Superintendent’s decision upholding Yuen’s driving prohibition was reasonable, despite record errors about the screening device and timing.

• Immediate roadside prohibition (irp)
• Approved screening device (asd)
• Reasonableness standard (vavilov)
• Credibility assessment
• Section 8 charter (search and seizure)
• Administrative-law

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R. v. Eastveld

Court

Nova Scotia Provincial Court

A provincial statutory licence revocation effective on the date of the guilty plea qualifies as a driving disqualification in respect of the offence and therefore entitles the accused to a credit against the mandatory-minimum Criminal Code driving prohibition; the court must impose the mandatory prohibition at sentencing and deduct the credited period rather than backdate the order.

Source excerpt

• Sentencing
• Driving prohibition
• License revocation
• Credit against mandatory minimum
• Double punishment

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Wardrop v. Gleeson

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court found Gary Gleeson solely liable for a collision at a signalized intersection after concluding he entered on red and failed to stop on amber.

• Negligence
• Right of way
• Traffic signal compliance
• Careless driving
• Statutory interpretation
• Motor-vehicle-negligence

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R. v. Min

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

On Crown appeal, the court held that the judicial justice lacked authority to reduce a traffic fine below the statutory minimum and varied the sentence accordingly.

• Statutory minimum fines
• Jurisdiction of judicial justices
• Owner liability for vehicle offences
• Offence act compliance
• Victim surcharge
• Statutory-minimum-fines

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R. v. Pastega

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court denied an application to set aside a plea/acknowledgement, finding the appellant’s conduct fell within the handheld-device driving prohibition.

• Use of handheld electronic device while driving
• Setting aside pleas/acknowledgements
• Statutory interpretation
• Handheld-electronic-device
• Setting-aside-plea
• Statutory-interpretation

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R. v. Thiara

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Appeal dismissed in a traffic-ticket case involving electronic-device use while driving. The court upheld the conviction and rejected complaints about cross-examination and disclosure.

• Use of electronic device while driving
• Cross-examination rights
• Disclosure of police notes
• Admissibility of complaint statements
• Appeal on the record
• Electronic-device-while-driving

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Eide v. Judicial Justice Adair

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal held a justice exceeded jurisdiction by deciding the merits of a ticket dispute on an extension-of-time application.

• Extension of time
• Jurisdiction of judicial justice of the peace
• Definition of 'use' under motor vehicle act
• Offence act s.16(2.1) application
• Jurisdiction
• Judicial-review

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Lemieux v. British Columbia (Superintendent of Motor Vehicles)

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed constitutional and judicial review appeals concerning the Immediate Roadside Prohibition scheme and upheld the reviews of the individual driving prohibitions.

• Immediate roadside prohibition
• Reverse onus
• Meaningful review
• Approved screening devices
• Burden of proof
• Judicial review

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