André Seguin

The applicant, Awso Peshdary, facing terrorism charges, brought applications under s. 7 of the Charter and s. 38.14 of the Canada Evidence Act, seeking a stay of proceedings or exclusion of evidence due to the destruction of notes by a key Crown witness (A.M.), a former CSIS human source.

As part of these applications, Peshdary sought disclosure of various CSIS documents, including policies on human source handling, drafts of an affidavit from a CSIS employee ('John'), and materials related to A.M.'s handler.

The court granted disclosure for CSIS policies related to human source safety and note-taking, finding them relevant to the Charter application concerning the right to make full answer and defence.

However, it denied disclosure for draft affidavits and handler-related materials, citing litigation privilege and lack of likely relevance, or prior Federal Court rulings on privilege.

The applicant, Awso Peshdary, sought disclosure of source documents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) related to a 2012 CSIS Act warrant, renewing a previous request based on an alleged material change in circumstances following a Federal Court decision upholding the warrant.

CSIS and the Federal Crown opposed, arguing that the validity of the warrant had been decided by the Federal Court, precluding further challenge, and that no material change justified revisiting the prior disclosure denial.

The court dismissed the application, finding that the renewed request constituted a collateral attack and an abuse of process, as it sought to relitigate the warrant's validity in a different forum after a final determination by the Federal Court.

The Applicant, Awso Peshdary, facing terrorism-related charges, sought production of materials from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) as a third-party records holder.

The request pertained to two main areas: (1) reliability assessments and financial arrangements of Abdullah Milton, a paid CSIS asset and later police agent whose credibility was a material issue, and (2) materials related to a CSIS warrant obtained against Peshdary, used to support a subsequent RCMP judicial authorization.

The court applied the two-stage O'Connor test for third-party disclosure.

It found that materials related to Milton's reliability and financial arrangements met the "likely relevance" test for trial issues and ordered their disclosure to the court for review.

However, for the CSIS warrant materials, the court distinguished between facial and sub-facial challenges to judicial authorizations, applying the narrower Garofoli test as clarified by World Bank Group v. Wallace.

It concluded that the applicant had not met the test for likely relevance for the CSIS warrant materials, as the purpose was to challenge the admissibility of evidence rather than directly bear on guilt or innocence.

The court also ordered disclosure of any notes Milton took of his interactions with Peshdary.

Following jury convictions for conspiracy to facilitate a terrorist activity and facilitating a terrorist activity, the court conducted a Gardiner hearing to determine disputed facts relevant to sentencing.

Applying s. 724 of the Criminal Code and the principles in R. v. Gardiner, the judge determined which aggravating facts were proven beyond a reasonable doubt and which alleged mitigating facts were established on a balance of probabilities.

The court found that the accused supported violent jihadist causes, assisted associates involved in terrorist activity, provided funds intended for foreign terrorists to purchase weapons and grenades, and participated in recruiting others into the group.

The court also addressed possession of explosive components but concluded that the purpose of that possession was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt in light of the jury’s acquittal on the explosives charge.

The decision sets out factual findings to guide the subsequent sentencing determination.