2 total
False WSIB functional-ability representations proven through surveillance and medical inconsistency.
Regulatory prosecution under s. 149(1) of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 arising from statements made in support of a workplace injury benefits claim.
The court found that surveillance evidence showing the defendant driving beyond stated limits and lifting objects far in excess of reported restrictions contradicted his statements to the WSIB and to health professionals that he had not improved and remained unable to return to work.
The court rejected the defence contention that the absence of an Arabic interpreter undermined the reliability of the communications, finding the defendant had sufficient English proficiency and had not unequivocally requested an interpreter.
The court also rejected a mistake of fact theory that the activity was only a one-time test of abilities, finding it lacked an air of reality and appeared to be a recent fabrication.
Conviction entered.
Motion to extend time for a second conviction appeal dismissed as statute-barred and meritless.
The applicant brought a motion to extend time to file a conviction appeal under the Provincial Offences Act following a guilty plea to two offences under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.
The applicant had previously obtained an extension of time and proceeded with an appeal, during which he abandoned his conviction appeal and proceeded only on sentence.
The court dismissed the motion on three grounds: (1) the application was statute-barred under s. 85(2) of the POA, which limits applications to one per conviction; (2) the conviction appeal had already been dismissed when the applicant abandoned it during the prior appeal hearing; and (3) the application lacked merit, with no valid reason provided for the delay and no substantive grounds for appeal.
