Areille Elbaz

The accused, charged with possession of controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking, brought a Garofoli application to exclude evidence obtained during the execution of a search warrant at her residence.

She argued her s. 8 Charter rights were violated because the Information to Obtain (ITO) relied on confidential informant information that was not credible, compelling, or corroborated.

Applying the Debot factors, the court found that while corroboration was limited, the highly compelling and credible nature of the information from two confidential sources provided sufficient grounds for the authorizing justice to issue the warrant.

The application was dismissed.

This is a preliminary inquiry decision arising from Project Bermuda, a Durham Regional Police investigation into cocaine trafficking.

Four accused were charged with various drug trafficking, firearm, and proceeds of crime offences.

The Crown proceeded on numerous counts with some concessions by defence counsel.

The judge applied the Shephard test to determine whether sufficient evidence existed to commit each accused to trial.

The decision addresses key legal principles regarding possession, conspiracy, voice identification, and the scope of preliminary inquiries.

Multiple counts were dismissed for insufficient evidence, while others proceeded to trial.

The appellants appealed a trial judgment dismissing their claim for constructive dismissal damages of $25,000.

The trial judge found that the individual appellant was an independent contractor, not an employee or dependent contractor, based on factors including his ability to set his own hours, his work for other clients, and his use of his own corporation.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the trial judge's application of the legal test or her credibility findings preferring the respondent's evidence.