acting in person

The appellant, found not criminally responsible for multiple violent offences including discharging an air pistol at a victim, appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board continuing his detention at a forensic psychiatry program.

He sought an absolute or conditional discharge.

The Court of Appeal found the Board's decision was reasonable, noting the seriousness and recency of the index offences, the appellant's limited insight into his illness, ongoing concerns about substance use and impulsivity, and the lack of suitable community accommodation.

The appeal was dismissed, though the court commended the appellant's significant progress.

This decision addresses a temporary care and custody motion under Part V of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017.

The Children’s Aid Society of Toronto sought to place the child, E.G., in the temporary care of the father, V.G., with supervised access for the mother, O.G. The court found that the mother’s significant mental health challenges, including erratic behavior and refusal of treatment, posed a risk of harm to the child.

The mother’s social media postings identifying the child and participants in the case were found to violate subsection 87(8) of the Act, leading to a prohibition on such postings and an order for their removal.

The court emphasized the child’s best interests, the need for stability, and the importance of protecting the integrity of child protection proceedings from cyberbullying and intimidation.

The appellant was convicted of aggravated assault and robbery and appealed his convictions and sentence.

The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge erred in her R. v. Grant analysis by characterizing the impact of a s. 10(b) Charter breach (unreasonable delay in access to counsel of choice) as "neutral," when it should have weighed in favour of exclusion.

However, the Court applied the curative proviso under s. 686(1)(b)(iii) of the Criminal Code, concluding that even if the impugned evidence (satchel and knife) had been excluded, the remaining overwhelming identification evidence would have inevitably led to the same convictions.

The conviction appeal was dismissed, and the sentence appeal was dismissed as abandoned due to lack of submissions.

The appellant was convicted of firearms offences and appealed, alleging breaches of his Charter rights under ss. 8, 9, and 10(b), and seeking exclusion of evidence.

The trial judge found a minor s. 10(b) breach but no ss. 8 or 9 violations, and declined to exclude the handgun evidence.

The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's decision, finding that the police had reasonable grounds for the appellant's detention and search, and that any Charter breach was minor and did not warrant exclusion of evidence under s. 24(2).

The appeal was dismissed.

The appellant, H.A., appealed his conviction for sexual interference and his sentence.

The trial judge had found that the appellant touched the complainant in her vaginal area on multiple occasions when she was nine years old.

The appellant claimed the trial judge misapprehended evidence regarding the use of a blanket and the complainant's clothing, and erred by failing to provide a proper analysis under the third prong of *R. v. W.D.* The Court of Appeal found no misapprehension of evidence, noting the trial judge's reasons were clear and comprehensive.

The court also found no error in the application of the burden of proof.

No submissions were advanced on the sentence appeal.

Both the conviction and sentence appeals were dismissed.

The appellant, Allan Dale Sutherland, appealed his sentence for operating a motor vehicle while disqualified and prohibited, challenging both the 18-month custodial sentence and the lifetime driving prohibitions imposed by the sentencing judge.

The Court of Appeal upheld the 18-month sentence, finding it fit given the appellant's extensive record and the need for specific deterrence.

However, the court found that the sentencing judge erred in imposing lifetime driving prohibitions, as legislative amendments to the Criminal Code (specifically the repeal of s. 259(4) and replacement by s. 320.18, with maximums set by s. 320.24(5)) made such prohibitions discretionary with specific maximum periods.

The court vacated the lifetime prohibition on the first count and varied the prohibition on the second count to 11.5 years, reflecting the maximum permissible period plus the sentence duration.

The appellant appealed his conviction for various drug and firearm offences and his nine-year global sentence.

The conviction appeal challenged the validity of a search warrant under section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, arguing that the Information to Obtain (ITO) lacked reasonable and probable grounds, particularly regarding the inclusion of facts from prior withdrawn or stayed charges.

The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's finding that the ITO, based on the totality of evidence and corroborative facts, justified the warrant.

The sentence appeal argued the nine-year global sentence was excessive, but the Court found the trial judge's sentencing discretion was reasonable.

Both the conviction and sentence appeals were dismissed.

Appeal from a Superior Court decision upholding a Crown wardship (extended care) order for four children.

The parents appealed, seeking return of the children to their care and challenging the access order.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the adjournment request based on alleged inappropriate text messages from Society workers, finding that even if the workers were discredited, ample independent evidence supported the protection finding and extended care order.

The court upheld the appeal judge's decision, which maintained the extended care order while granting access to the parents, finding this arrangement best served the children's interests.

The appellant was convicted of three counts of historical sexual assault against two teenage nieces committed between 1976 and 1986, and received a global sentence of six years.

On appeal, the appellant challenged the trial judge's admission of similar fact evidence regarding his 2009 convictions for sexual offences against his step-daughters.

The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentence, finding no error in the trial judge's analysis that the probative value of the similar fact evidence outweighed its prejudicial effect, particularly given the striking similarities in the circumstances of the incidents despite some dissimilarities in the nature of the acts.

The appellants sought to review an order of Roberts J.A. refusing to extend the time to file a motion to review and set aside a security for costs order made by Laforme J.A., and to obtain a stay of both that order and the underlying summary judgment.

The appellants had defaulted under two mortgages and obtained summary judgment against them.

The Court of Appeal found no basis to interfere with Roberts J.A.'s decision, which was based on the appeal being wholly without merit and the justice of the case not warranting the orders sought.

The motion to review was dismissed with costs.