36416 Peter Waskowec v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario
Criminal Law
On appeal from the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Mr. Waskowec has been engaged in a lengthy dispute with Hydro One Networks in an effort to compel Hydro One to courier paper copies of his monthly bills to his home address. In these proceedings, Mr. Waskowec appeared before a Justice of the Peace seeking to have an Information received pursuant to s. 504 of the Criminal Code and criminal process commenced by a referral of the Information under s. 507.1 of the Criminal Code. He seeks to have Hydro One and several of its employees charged with offences such as threatening, intimidation, breach of trust by a public official, criminal breach of trust, and refusal by a public servant to deliver property. The Ontario Court of Justice refused to accept the Information and refused to process the complaints. Mr. Waskowec’s appeals were dismissed.
36382 Paul Oommen, a litigation representative for Frederick Allan Chapman, Deceased v. Errol Ramjohn and Maintenance Enforcement Program
Law of professions – Barristers and solicitors
On appeal from the Court of Appeal of Alberta. The applicant, Paul Oommen, is a co-executor named in the deceased Mr. Chapman’s will, which has not received a grant of probate or administration. Prior to his death, Mr. Chapman successfully obtained judgment in a civil action against the respondent, Errol Ramjohn; that judgment is still outstanding. Mr. Oommen is personally attempting to enforce this judgment on behalf of the estate without the assistance of counsel. He has also appointed himself the estate’s litigation representative pursuant to Rule 2.14 of the Alberta Rules of Court, Alta Reg 390/1968. In that context and role, Mr. Oommen appeared before several justices of the Court of Queen’s Bench without incident. On one such occasion in the Court of Queen’s Bench, Mr. Oommen applied on behalf of the estate to review a prior order dealing with the distribution of funds garnished by the Alberta Maintenance Enforcement Program.
The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench dismissed the applicant’s application to review a garnishment order and directed that the applicant could no longer appear in court to represent the estate. The Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s application to represent the estate, as well as his application for leave to appeal to a three-member panel of the court.
36372 Nelson Turcotte, ès qualités, Marcelle Séguin, ès qualités v. Agence du revenu du Québec
Taxation – Income tax – Assessment
On appeal from the Quebec Court of appeal. Following a taxpayer’s death, an amount paid from the deceased’s pension plan was received by his testamentary succession. In keeping with the instructions in his will, the amount was subsequently given as a gift to a charity in the deceased’s name. The deceased then received a tax credit for a gift for the purpose of reducing his tax payable on his final tax return. The succession trust then included the same amount in computing its own income and therefore received a deduction to reduce the income of the succession as a testamentary trust. The Agence du revenu du Québec issued an assessment against the liquidators of the succession, since it was of the opinion that the same amount could not be used for those two purposes. The liquidators objected to the assessment and appealed.
The Court of Québec and the Quebec Court of Appeal dismissed the liquidators’ appeals and upheld the validity of the assessment. The courts below noted that the situation’s tax impact had to be viewed as a whole. They found that the liquidators’ more textual interpretation would allow the [translation] “double characterization” of the same amount (as a credit for a gift and as a deduction from income) and would be contrary to the spirit of the Taxation Act.
36427 Stefan Gheorghe Petre v. Laura Emilia Petre
Family law – Separation agreements – Division of family property
On appeal from the Court of Appeal for Ontario. The parties were married in 1995. They separated on January 9, 2010 and divorced December 19, 2012. Prior to the divorce, on October 17, 2012, the parties entered into the Separation Agreement in issue. The Separation Agreement was signed by both parties and witnessed by the lawyers who acted for them respectively. Certificates of Independent Legal Advice of both lawyers were attached to the Separation Agreement. Although advised to do so by their lawyers, the parties did not exchange sworn financial statements. Following the execution of the agreement the applicant purchased the respondent’s interest in the former matrimonial home for $336,000. In 2013 the applicant intercepted and opened a bank statement addressed to the respondent, which disclosed the respondent had savings in the amount of $417,578, over $81,000 more than the house proceeds and which the applicant alleged were hidden from him at the time the agreement was negotiated and signed. The applicant brought an action to have the agreement set aside on that basis, and because he had been allegedly coerced into signing the agreement. He also claimed that certain debts he had assumed on separation were in fact joint debts. Accordingly, he made a monetary claim of over $97,000.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed the applicant’s action. The Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s appeal.
36323 Scott Berthold Krieger v. Her Majesty the Queen
Charter of Rights and Freedoms – Criminal law – Search and seizure
On appeal from the Court of Appeal for British Columbia. The applicant was under investigation for smuggling firearms into Canada. His co-accused Goodkey delivered two boxes containing cocaine to the applicant which were placed in a hidden compartment in the applicant’s truck. Believing that the boxes Goodkey delivered contained firearms, the police arrested the applicant, searched his truck, and found cocaine and cell phones. The trial judge held the applicant’s arrest and the search of the truck incidental to the arrest were unlawful, and also held s. 10(b) was violated. The Crown sought to tender only the cocaine. The judge declined to exclude the evidence under s. 24(2) of the Charter. The applicant was convicted for possession for the purpose of trafficking. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the applicant’s motion for an oral hearing and dismissed the application for leave to appeal.
36404 Lingying Li and Xijiang Yang v. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Immigration – Judicial review
On appeal from the Federal Court. The applicants are citizens of the People’s Republic of China. In November 2012, they applied for temporary resident visas in order to visit with their daughter, who was residing in British Columbia. The visa officer from Citizenship and Immigration Canada assessed and refused their application. In October, 2014, the applicants challenged that decision and sought an extension of time in which to commence their application. The Federal Court dismissed these applications.
36257 Syndicat des travailleurs de l’éducation de l’Est du Québec (CSQ) v. Commission scolaire des Îles - and - Marcel Morin, ès qualités
Labour relations – Arbitration – Grievances
On Appeal from the Quebec Court of Appeal. On June 30, 2011, the Syndicat des travailleurs de l’éducation de l’est du Québec (CSQ) filed a notice of grievance to contest the decision of the Commission scolaire des Îles to take away from teachers the ability to arrange school calendars so they would have half‑days free while they conferred with one another, a practice established for several years.
The arbitrator dismissed the grievance, finding that he was dealing with a dispute other than a grievance and therefore had no jurisdiction to force the Commission scolaire to ask school authorities to take part in the preparation of draft school calendars. The Superior Court allowed the Syndicat’s motion for judicial review, but that decision was set aside by the Court of Appeal, which allowed the appeal brought by the Commission scolaire and dismissed the applicant’s motion for judicial review.
36399 Paul Matthew Johnson v. Her Majesty the Queen
Taxation ― Goods and services tax ― Assessment
On appeal from the Federal Court of Appeal. The Minister of National Revenue issued a notice of assessment/reassessment in respect of Mr. Johnson’s liability under s. 272.1(5) of Part IX of theExcise Tax Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-15. Mr. Johnson filed a notice of objection to the assessment and the Minister confirmed the assessment.
Mr. Johnson filed a Notice of Appeal in the Tax Court . He brought a motion seeking a default judgment. The Crown also brought a motion to strike paragraphs from Mr. Johnson’s pleadings. The Tax Court dismissed Mr. Johnston’s motion for default judgment but allowed the Crown’s motion to strike. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.
36400 Paul Matthew Johnson v. Her Majesty the Queen
Taxation ― Goods and services tax ― Assessment
On appeal from the Federal Court of Appeal. Mr. Johnson applied to the Federal Court for judicial review of the Minister of National Revenue’s decisions relating to the assessment and collection actions taken against him. The Federal Court dismissed the application for judicial review. The Federal Court of Appeal allowed the appeal in part.
36417 Yuri Boiko v. Chander Grover, Peter Hackett, Mary McLaren, National Research Council
Judgments and orders – Summary judgments – Torts
On appeal from the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Mr. Boiko was hired by the respondent, the National Research Council (“NRC”) in November, 2001 and as an employee, he was subject to the terms and conditions of the Public Service Staff Relations Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P-35 (“PSSRA”). The other respondents were also employees of the NRC. The first three years of employment were a probationary period. After he received a number of unfavourable performance reviews during that period, his employment was terminated in July 2004. The NRC’s human resources department prepared a draft “Release on Probation” document that summarized the contents of Mr. Boiko’s performance reviews. This document was reviewed by managers and other NRC human resources employees, including the individual respondents. Mr. Boiko filed this action against the NRC based on defamation in March 2009, seeking $1 and a letter of apology as damages. The respondents brought a motion for summary judgment on the grounds that his claim was barred by the PSSRA; was out of time; did not correctly plead the elements of defamation; and was subject to the defence of qualified privilege. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted the respondents’ motion for summary judgment and dismissed the applicant’s action. The Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s appeal.
36470 Larry Peter Klippenstein v. Manitoba Ombudsman
Charter of Rights – Fundamental justice – Right to equality
On appeal from the Court of Appeal of Manitoba. In the course of his motion for contempt against a lawyer, the applicant sought to have Mainella J.A.’s notes produced to him. The Manitoba Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s motion for an order of contempt against solicitor and refused the applicant’s request for transcripts.
36429 Blair Jason Hinkley v. Her Majesty the Queen
Criminal law – Causation
On appeal from the Court of Appeal of Alberta. Mr. Hinkley, applicant, ran over and killed his mother while driving a tractor trailer on his parent’s farm. He was convicted of impaired driving causing death and of causing an accident resulting in death while driving with an excessive blood alcohol concentration, contrary to ss. 255(3) and 255(3.1) of the Criminal Code. The trial judge found that at the time of the accident, Mr. Hinkley was impaired and had an excessive blood alcohol concentration. He rejected Mr. Hinkley’s post-offence consumption of alcohol defence, and he concluded that Mr. Hinkley’s impairment was more than a minimal cause of his mother’s death. Mr. Hinkley unsuccessfully appealed his conviction. Among other things, the Court of Appeal concluded in respect of the s. 255(3.1) offence that it was not necessary to address whether the Crown was required to prove that Mr. Hinkley’s blood alcohol level caused or contributed to the accident which resulted in death. It nevertheless found that even if such a requirement existed for that charge, the inferences available on the evidence in this case more than adequately established causation.
36401 Lawrence Richard Whitney v. Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
Contracts — Gaming and wagering
On appeal from the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Mr. Whitney says that, on March 14, 2007, he purchased a Lotto/649 ticket for the draw on March 21, 2007, which he surrendered at Cox’s General Store in Sundridge, Ontario, on March 22, 2007. He says that that ticket won the $20 million jackpot, but that the winner was announced as being another man who had connections employed by Cox’s General Store and the Lottery and Gaming Commission. Mr. Whitney made two requests for access to information to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission and was informed, via a redacted document, that the one winning ticket had been purchased in Quebec. He was also told that he was wrong about the identity of the winner.
Mr. Whitney appealed to the Information and Privacy Commissioner, challenging the redaction and the adequacy of the Commission’s search for information responsive to his request. The adjudicator dismissed the appeal, finding that the Commission had met its statutory obligations in responding to the request. The information redacted was unrelated to the purchase, validation or payout of the winning ticket, and the Commission had made a reasonable effort to identify and locate any reasonably related information.
Mr. Whitney’s application for judicial review was dismissed, as were his applications to quash the findings that the searches were adequate and the adjudicator’s decision that the Commission’s decision to redact a report was reasonable. The Court of Appeal dismissed Mr Whitney’s application for leave to appeal.
36426 Siri Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara of Alberta v. Sakattar Singh Sandhu and Baldev Singh Hundle
Commercial law — Corporations — Incorporated religious societies
On appeal from the Court of Appeal of Alberta. The Siri Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara is an incorporated congregation under the Religious Societies’ Land Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. R-15, governed by a Religious Committee and an Executive Committee. The Respondents, involved and regular members of the Society, applied to wind-up the Society because the Membership Committee had refused membership to 80 Sikhs for political reasons, and because the Society had failed to hold elections in accordance with its bylaws. On an application for summary judgment, the chambers judge gave one affidavit very restricted weight. He found that the membership applications had been rejected for political, not religious, reasons, and appointed himself as case manager. He found that the Society’s actions had been oppressive, ordered the Society to prepare a current membership list, set a new procedure for addition additional members, amended the bylaws, and ordered that the committees continue in the interim. An application for a stay of that order was dismissed, as was an application for a stay of execution. The Court of Appeal dismissed the Society’s appeal.
