Donald Powell

The defendant, a 52-year-old early childhood educator with 27 years of experience, was charged with assault causing bodily harm after a four-year-old child in her care fell off a cot during naptime and sustained a lip injury requiring seven stitches.

The Crown alleged the defendant intentionally lifted or moved the child's bed to teach him a lesson for jumping on it.

The defendant maintained her conduct was accidental—that her foot inadvertently slid under the bed while she was attempting to protectively grab the child's legs to prevent him from falling.

The court found the defendant not guilty, determining that while her account strained credulity, it might reasonably be true and left the court in reasonable doubt as to whether the defendant's contact with the bed was intentional or merely accidental.

The defendant pleaded guilty to five offences arising from a shooting incident: possession of a firearm without a licence, possession of a loaded prohibited firearm, aggravated assault, reckless intentional discharge of a firearm, and failure to comply with a recognizance.

The victim was shot in the face and suffered permanent scarring, disfigurement, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The court imposed a total sentence of 7 years, 10 months, and 7 days, after crediting 13.75 months of pre-trial detention.

The sentence reflected the serious nature of the offence, the defendant's significant criminal history, and aggravating factors including the public nature of the shooting and proximity to family members, while considering mitigating factors including the guilty plea, remorse, and Gladue considerations regarding the defendant's Aboriginal status and intergenerational trauma.

The offender was convicted of sexual interference and sexual assault against his six-year-old biological son.

The offences involved oral and anal sex over a two-week period.

The court considered the devastating impact on the victim, the offender's lack of remorse, and the profound breach of trust.

Balancing the aggravating and mitigating factors, the court sentenced the offender to 5 years' incarceration, along with weapons prohibitions, a DNA order, and a section 161 prohibition order.

Sentencing following a guilty plea to breaking and entering a dwelling house and committing theft.

The offender had an extensive criminal history including numerous prior break and enter convictions and was on probation at the time of the offence.

The Crown sought a five‑year penitentiary sentence while the defence sought four years with enhanced credit for pre‑sentence custody based on institutional conduct.

The court emphasized denunciation, deterrence, and protection of the public given the offender’s persistent recidivism but accepted evidence of positive institutional behaviour and program participation as circumstances justifying enhanced credit under s. 719(3.1) of the Criminal Code.

Enhanced credit reduced the custodial sentence to twenty‑four months less one day in a provincial institution.

The applicant, charged with break and enter and other offences, sought a stay of proceedings or a reduction in sentence under s. 24(1) of the Charter, alleging that police used excessive force during his arrest in violation of ss. 7 and 12.

The applicant fled the scene, ran through fences and trees, and actively resisted arrest when tackled.

The court found that the police officers' use of pepper spray, distractionary strikes, and baton strikes was a proportionate, necessary, and reasonable response to the applicant's resistance and potential threat.

The application was dismissed as no Charter breach occurred.