B. Hundal

The accused brought a blended voir dire application seeking to exclude statements made to police following arrest for sexual assault and unlawful confinement.

The defence argued the statements were involuntary and obtained in breach of the accused’s right to counsel under s. 10(b) of the Charter due to significant language comprehension difficulties.

After reviewing the videotaped interview and transcript, the court found the accused did not understand the caution and never meaningfully confirmed comprehension of the right to counsel or the right to silence.

The court held that police failed to take adequate steps to ensure the accused understood the caution given his obvious linguistic limitations.

Both the brief utterances at arrest and the later recorded police statement were ruled involuntary and inadmissible.

Sentencing decision following convictions for criminal negligence causing death, criminal negligence causing bodily harm, and multiple counts of mischief endangering life arising from a fatal residential fire in a rooming house.

The offender knowingly failed to comply with Fire Code requirements and misled a fire inspector regarding the intended use of the premises, continuing to rent rooms to unrelated tenants without required safety retrofits.

A tenant died from smoke inhalation after a fire started from an unattended hot plate, and another tenant suffered burns and smoke inhalation.

The court held that the offender’s deliberate disregard of statutory safety requirements and deception of authorities constituted a marked and substantial departure from reasonable conduct.

Emphasizing denunciation and general deterrence for landlords who endanger tenants, the court imposed a global penitentiary sentence of three years and ordered restitution to surviving victims.

Following a fatal residential fire in Toronto, the Crown prosecuted the property owners for criminal negligence causing death, criminal negligence causing bodily harm, and mischief endangering life.

The Crown alleged the accused knowingly operated an unsafe rooming house in violation of Ontario Fire Code requirements despite repeated warnings and inspection notices from the Toronto Fire Service.

The court found that the property was in fact being operated as a rooming house rather than a single-family dwelling and that the landlord deliberately misrepresented the tenancy structure to avoid costly fire‑safety retrofits.

The failure to install required fire‑safety systems and to prevent cooking in bedrooms constituted a marked and substantial departure from the reasonable standard of care and was a significant contributing cause of the fatal fire.

One accused landlord was convicted of criminal negligence causing death, criminal negligence causing bodily harm, and multiple counts of mischief endangering life, while the co‑owner spouse was acquitted due to insufficient evidence of knowledge or participation.