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Civil forfeiture application dismissed due to responsible owner exception and unexplained six-year delay.
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.
Conviction overturned because trial reasons failed to address key credibility issues.
The appellant appealed a summary conviction for assault arising from a domestic altercation.
He argued that the trial judge failed to properly apply the analytical framework in R. v. W.(D.), failed to address key credibility issues, and provided reasons that prevented meaningful appellate review.
The appellate court found that the trial judge’s reasons mischaracterized parts of the evidentiary record and failed to resolve significant inconsistencies in the complainant’s evidence, including prior statements and testimony affecting credibility.
Given the central importance of credibility and unresolved live issues, the reasons were insufficient to disclose the basis for the verdict.
The conviction was set aside and a new trial ordered.
