The Crown brought an ex parte application on behalf of 721 respondents to vary the time to pay the victim fine surcharge (VFS) by 99 years.
The VFS had previously been struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Boudreault, leaving thousands of offenders subject to an unconstitutional penalty.
The Superior Court of Justice found it had jurisdiction under section 734.3 of the Criminal Code to grant the extension and that it was in the interests of justice to do so, effectively ensuring no enforcement measures would be taken against these offenders in their lifetimes.
