Amanda Lowe

The accused was charged with impaired operation of a vessel causing death, operating a vessel with over 80 milligrams of alcohol in blood causing death, dangerous operation of a vessel causing death, and criminal negligence causing death.

The charges arose from an incident on April 7, 2017, when the accused took an eight-year-old child canoeing on the Muskoka River during spring run-off with dangerous water conditions.

The canoe capsized, and the child drowned.

The court found the accused's blood alcohol concentration was between 128 to 170 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood, and he had recently consumed cannabis.

The court held that a canoe constitutes a "vessel" under the Criminal Code and convicted the accused on all charges, finding his decision to canoe to a yellow warning barrier to retrieve a blue barrel in dangerous conditions, while impaired, constituted a marked and substantial departure from reasonable conduct demonstrating wanton and reckless disregard for the child's safety.

The accused was charged with operating a motor vehicle with over 80 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood.

The defence brought a Charter application alleging violations of sections 8, 9, and 10(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but abandoned the sections 8 and 9 arguments before trial.

The court found no breach of the accused's section 10(b) right to counsel, rejecting arguments that police "funnelled" the accused to duty counsel or that the telephone consultation lacked privacy.

On the trial proper, the accused testified he consumed two double vodka drinks in the 10 minutes before leaving the restaurant, raising a bolus drinking defence.

The court rejected this evidence as incredible and unreliable, finding it inconsistent with the bartender's testimony and contrary to common sense.

The court convicted the accused based on the toxicology evidence and the common sense inference that people do not normally consume large quantities of alcohol immediately before driving.