Andrea Huckins

A case management conference was held to set the timetable for two grouped appeals arising from a decision certifying a class action against the Province of Ontario but declining to certify it against 49 Children's Aid Societies regarding the use of 'Birth Alerts'.

The appeals will be heard by a five-judge panel to consider whether the court should depart from the Ragoonanan principle.

The case management judge set the schedule for responding materials, intervention motions, and factums.

The Toronto Revolver Club sought declarations that the Chief Firearms Officer of Ontario lacks authority to conduct warrantless inspections of shooting ranges and to impose conditions on shooting range approvals.

The court found that while the first issue presented no live controversy, the CFO has no authority to attach conditions to shooting range approvals under the Firearms Act.

The court applied statutory interpretation principles, finding that the Act and Regulations do not expressly grant such power and that the power is not practically necessary to achieve Parliament's public safety objectives, as the CFO retains broad revocation authority.

This is an appeal from a pleadings motion where the Crown (Ontario) sued Sanjay Madan and his family (appellants) for fraud.

The appellants counterclaimed, alleging contributory negligence by Ontario, misuse of a Mareva injunction, vicarious liability for Sanjay's intrusion upon seclusion, and direct/vicarious negligence by Ontario.

The motion judge struck these parts of the pleadings and refused leave to amend.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, affirming that a victim's negligence is not a defence to fraud, the "clean hands" doctrine does not apply to mere carelessness, and claims related to the Mareva injunction were unsupported.

The Court further held that Ontario could not be vicariously liable for Sanjay's intrusion upon seclusion as there was no nexus between his employment and the privacy violation, and that Crown liability in tort is vicarious, not direct, requiring proximity to identified Crown employees for negligence claims.

The Attorney General of Ontario brought a motion to determine the appropriate sentence for Trinity Bible Chapel and six individuals (the "Contemnors") who were found in contempt of a January 22, 2021 court order.

The order restrained them from holding gatherings of more than 10 persons, contravening Ontario Regulation 82/20.

The Contemnors had intentionally and publicly breached the order, having previously expressed an intent to engage in civil disobedience rather than challenge the legislation constitutionally.

The court considered proportionality, mitigating and aggravating factors, deterrence, denunciation, and similar sentences.

The court imposed fines totaling $38,000 ($15,000 for Trinity Bible Chapel, and varying amounts for the individual Contemnors based on their involvement) and fixed costs of $45,000 on a substantial indemnity basis, payable jointly and severally by the respondents.

The Crown and Ontario Provincial Police appealed a disclosure order requiring production of a drug recognition expert's rolling log.

The rolling log documented all drug evaluations conducted by the DRE from training through certification.

The respondent was charged with drug-impaired operation of a motor vehicle.

The trial judge ordered disclosure of the rolling log, and the motion judge affirmed.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that the rolling log was "obviously relevant" material subject to first party disclosure under the Stinchcombe regime, and that disclosure was permitted under the exception in section 258.1(2)(a) of the Criminal Code even when anonymized.