The Attorney General of Ontario brought an application under the Civil Remedies Act for the civil forfeiture of a residential property and a vehicle, alleging they were instruments of unlawful activity related to drug trafficking.
The court found that both the property and the vehicle were instruments of unlawful activity.
However, the application was dismissed.
The court held that the owner of the vehicle was a 'responsible owner' who took reasonable steps to prevent its unlawful use.
Regarding the real property, although the owner failed to establish the responsible owner exception, the court found that forfeiture was clearly not in the interests of justice due to the Attorney General's unexplained six-year delay in bringing the application, during which the owner unwittingly built up equity in the property.
