Dianne Pothier

The appellant, a black youth, was acquitted of assaulting a police officer after the Youth Court Judge accepted his testimony over the conflicting testimony of the white arresting officer.

In her oral reasons, the judge remarked that police officers have been known to overreact when dealing with non-white groups.

The Crown appealed, arguing these comments raised a reasonable apprehension of bias.

The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal and restored the acquittal, holding that the judge's comments, viewed in context by a reasonable and informed person aware of the social reality of racism, did not give rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias but rather reflected an appropriate recognition of the social context.

Appeal from an order staying the public hearings of a provincial inquiry into a fatal mine explosion while criminal proceedings against certain mine managers were pending.

The Court held that the inquiry served a legitimate and pressing public purpose, and that the accused managers were compellable witnesses subject to constitutional protections against use of their testimony and derivative evidence.

The Court rejected a broad stay as the appropriate remedy for anticipated prejudice, emphasizing that fair trial concerns from publicity ordinarily should be addressed through narrower measures such as publication restrictions and by the commissioner in the first instance.

The appeal was allowed and the stay of the public hearings was set aside.