The most notable decision of the week was Ontario (Attorney General) v. Bogaerts, in which the Court reversed the Superior Court’s decision to strike down certain portions of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. In upholding the constitutionality of those provisions, the Court reaffirmed that when dealing with regulatory matters, as opposed to criminal matters, a less strenuous and more flexible standard of reasonableness applies. With respect to the s. 8 challenge to that legislation, the Court held that the application judge came to the right conclusion as the provisions imposed a sufficient procedural safeguard against unreasonable search and seizure in the context of animal protection. However, the application judge erred in law in concluding that the impugned provisions engaged the liberty and security of the person interests under s. 7, and in recognizing a novel principle of fundamental justice. Ultimately, the Court found that the powers conferred by the provisions at issue were too remote from the possibility of conviction and imprisonment to engage the liberty interest and they did not plainly interfere with bodily integrity or control over one’s body. Furthermore, with respect to the proposed new principle of fundamental justice, namely that “law enforcement bodies must be subject to reasonable standards of transparency and accountability”, the Court found that it met none of the three criteria established by the Supreme Court of Canada in Malmo-Levine, 2003 SCC 74.
Other topics covered this week included insurance coverage in the MVA context, the duty to defend, and certainty of intention to create a trust in the insolvency context.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Civil Decisions:
Ontario (Attorney General) v. Bogaerts, 2019 ONCA 876
Keywords: Constitutional Law, Freedom from Unreasonable Search and Seizure, Right to Liberty and Security of the Person, Principles of Fundamental Justice, Public Interest Standing, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ss 7, 8, Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.36, Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Amendment Act (Interim Period), 2019, S.O. 2019, c. 11, Rodriguez v. British Columbia (Attorney General), [1993] 3 S.C.R. 519, Hunter et al. v. Southam Inc., [1984] 2 S.C.R. 145, R. v. Big M Drug Mart, [1985] 1 S.C.R. 295, R. v. Big M Drug Mart, [1985] 1 S.C.R. 295, Re B.C. Motor Vehicle Act, [1985] 2 S.C.R. 486, Canada (Attorney General) v. Federation of Law Societies of Canada, 2015 SCC 7, Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, 2013 SCC 72, R. v. Nova Scotia Pharmaceutical Society, [1992] 2 S.C.R. 606, R. v. Stinchcombe, [1991] 3 S.C.R. 326, Thomson Newspapers Ltd. v. Canada (Director of Investigation and Research, Restrictive Trade Practices Commission), [1990] 1 S.C.R. 425, London (City) v. Polewsky (2005), 202 C.C.C. (3d) 257, R. v. Schmidt, 2014 ONCA 188, R. v. Rodgers, 2006 SCC 15, R. v. Pearson, [1992] 3 S.C.R. 665, Wakeling v. United States of America, 2014 SCC 72, R. v. Malmo-Levine, 2003 SCC 74, Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v. Canada (Attorney General), 2004 SCC 4
Conners v. D'Angelo, 2019 ONCA 905
Keywords: Contracts, Interpretation, Insurance, Coverage, MVA, Statutory Accident Benefits, Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. I.8., Uninsured Automobile Coverage, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 676, Ontario Automobile Policy, s 1.8.2, Shipman v. Dominion of Canada General Insurance Co. (2004), 73 O.R. (3d) 144 (C.A.), Taggart (Litigation Guardian of) v. Simmons (2001), 52 O.R. (3d) 704 (C.A.), McCardle v. Bugler, 2007 ONCA 659, Ortiz v. The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Co. (2001), 52 O.R. (3d) 130 (C.A.)
Firepower Debt GP Inc. v. TheRedPin, Inc., 2019 ONCA 903
Keywords: Trusts, Certainty of Intention, Bankruptcy and Insolvency, Sales Commissions
Pembridge Insurance Company of Canada v. Chu, 2019 ONCA 904
Keywords: Contracts, Interpretation, Insurance, Coverage, MVA, Duty to Defend, Exclusions, Intentional Acts, Non-Marine Underwriters Lloyd’s London v. Scalera, 2000 SCC 24, Consolidated Bathurst Export Ltd. v. Mutual Boiler & Machinery Insurance Co., [1980] 1 S.C.R. 888, Tench v. Erskine (2006), 244 N.S.R. (2d) 55, Monenco Ltd. v. Commonwealth Insurance Co., 2001 SCC 49, Cooper v. Farmers’ Mutual Insurance Co. (2002), 59 O.R. (3d) 417
Short Civil Decisions:
Liu v. Longo, 2019 ONCA 892
Keywords: Civil Procedure, Striking Pleadings, Vexatious Litigants, Frivolous, Vexatious, Abuse of Process, Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 2.1, Khan v. Krylov & Co., 2017 ONCA 625
Criminal Decisions:
R. v. D., 2019 ONCA 893
Keywords: Criminal Law, Criminal Negligence Causing Bodily Harm, Dangerous Driving Causing Bodily Harm, Impaired Driving Causing Bodily Harm, Acquittal, Criminal Code, ss. 221, 249(3), 255(2), 255(2.1)
R. v. M.S. (Publication Ban), 2019 ONCA 894
Keywords: Publication Ban, Criminal Law, Incest, Sexual Assault, Child Pornography, Sentencing, Criminal Code, ss. 718.01, 718.2, R. v. Boudreault, 2018 SCC 58, R. v. Lacasse, 2015 SCC 64, R. v. P.M., 2012 ONCA 162
R. v. M., 2019 ONCA 890
Keywords: Criminal Law, Second Degree Murder, Jury Trials, Jury Instruction, Evidence, Video-taped Statements, Credibility, Bad Character Evidence, Res Gestae, Oath-Helping, Post Offence Conduct, R. v. P. (N.A.) (2002), 171 C.C.C. (3d) 70, R. v. Ansari, 2015 ONCA 575, leave to appeal refused, [2015] S.C.C.A. No. 487, R. v. B. (F.F.), [1993] 1 S.C.R. 697, R. v. J.A.T., 2012 ONCA 177, R. v. Khan (1988), 42 C.C.C. (3d) 197 (Ont. C.A.), aff’d [1990] 2 S.C.R. 531, R. v. Nurse, 2019 ONCA 260, Ratten v. The Queen, [1972] A.C. 378 (P.C.), R. v. Nicholas (2004), 182 C.C.C. (3d) 393 (Ont. C.A.), leave to appeal refused, [2004] S.C.C.A. No. 225, R. v. Tash, 2013 ONCA 380, R. v. Santhosh, 2016 ONCA 731, R. v. Adan, 2019 ONCA 709, R. v. Hall, 2010 ONCA 724, R. v. White, [1998] 2 S.C.R. 72
R. v. E., 2019 ONCA 891
Keywords: Criminal Law, Sexual Assault, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Disclosure, Sentencing, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, R. v. Oickle, 2000 SCC 38, R. v. Grant, 2009 SCC 32, R. v. Moran (1987), 36 C.C.C. (3d) 225
R. v. S., 2019 ONCA 895
Keywords: Criminal Law, Robbery, Firearm Offences, Uttering Death Threats, Carrying a Concealed Weapon, Double Jeopardy, Delay, Standard of Review, Correctness, Criminal Code, ss. 87(2), 90(1), 264.1, 344(1), 561(1), Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s. 11(b), R. v. Jordan, 2016 SCC 27, R. v. Coulter, 2016 ONCA 704, R. v. Morin, [1992] 1 S.C.R. 771, D.M.S. v. R., 2016 NBCA 71, R. v. Jurkas, 2018 ONCA 489
R. v. A.S., 2019 ONCA 900
Keywords: Publication Ban, Criminal Law, Sexual Assault, Unlawful Confinement, Robbery, Possession of a Firearm, Sentencing, Pre-Sentence Custody, Fresh Evidence, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ss. 12, 24(1), Canadian Civil Liberties Association v. Canada, 2019 ONCA 243, R. v. Lacasse, 2015 SCC 64, R. v. Nasogaluak, 2010 SCC 6
R. v. D., 2019 ONCA 897
Keywords: Criminal Law, Possession of Heroin, Possession of Heroin for the Purpose of Trafficking, Jury Trials, Jury Instructions, W.(D.) Instruction, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, ss. 4(1), 5(2)
R. v. G., 2019 ONCA 902
Keywords: Criminal Law, Attempting to Possess Heroin for the Purpose of Trafficking, Mens Rea, Sentencing, Criminal Code, s. 718.1, R. v. Lohrer, 2004 SCC 80, R. v. Sinclair, 2011 SCC 40, R. v. Villaroman, 2016 SCC 33, R. v. Jackson, [2007] 3 S.C.R. 514, R. v. Lacasse, 2015 SCC 64
R. v. L., 2019 ONCA 899
Keywords: Criminal Law, Unlawful Confinement, Defences, Consent, Jury Trials, Jury Instructions, Criminal Code, ss. 279, 494(1), 494(3), R. v. Niedermier, 2005 BCCA 15, leave to appeal refused, [2005] S.C.C.A. No. 103, R. v. Magoon, 2018 SCC 14, R. v. Gough, (1985) 18 C.C.C. (3d) 454 (Ont. C.A.)
R. v. T.C. (Publication Ban), 2019 ONCA 898
Keywords: Publication Ban, Criminal Law, Sexual Assault, Sexual Interference, Self-Represented Accused, Jury Trials, Jury Instructions, Similar Fact Evidence, Criminal Code, ss. 151(a), 152, 271, 486.3, Criminal Proceeding Rules for the Superior Court of Justice (Ontario), SI/2012, Rule 30, R. v. Dawson, 2016 ONCA 880, R. v. MacCormack, 2009 ONCA 72, R. v. Tsigirlash, 2019 ONCA 650, R. v. Handy, 2002 SCC 56, R. v. P.E.C., 2005 SCC 19, R. v. T.B.L. (2003), 173 O.A.C. 159 (C.A.), R. v. Graham, 2015 ONCA 113, R. v. Simpson (1977), 35 C.C.C. (2d) 337 (Ont. C.A.), R. v. Arp, [1998] 3 S.C.R. 339, R. v. J.A.T., 2012 ONCA 177, R. v. B.(L.) (1997), 35 O.R. (3d) 35 (C.A.), R. v. McNeice, 2019 ONCA 836, R. v. Wilson, 2013 ONCA 222
R. v. R., 2019 ONCA 901
Keywords: Criminal Law, Firearm Offences, Sentencing, R. v. Boudreault, 2018 SCC 58
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