Dr. Michel Lariviere

The accused pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving arising from a head-on collision on Highway 17 near Walden in Greater Sudbury.

The accused deliberately drove his truck into oncoming traffic as a suicide attempt.

One victim (Dawn Ceasar) was killed, and two others (Hartley Ceasar and Jack Ceasar) suffered serious injuries.

The court imposed a 15-month custodial sentence followed by three years probation, rejecting both the Crown's request for 18 months incarceration and the defence request for an 18-month conditional sentence.

The court found that while the accused suffered from depression and demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation efforts, the gravity of the offence and harm to victims required a custodial sentence to satisfy principles of denunciation and general deterrence.

The applicant sought a declaration that the informal name “Domestic Violence Court” was unconstitutional and should be replaced with “Domestic Court”.

He alleged the name violated ss. 7, 12, and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by stigmatizing accused persons and affecting fairness in criminal proceedings.

The court held the applicant failed to establish any deprivation of security of the person or other Charter rights, noting that subjective feelings of stigma were insufficient without objective evidence of serious psychological harm.

The court also found the name rationally connected to the court’s legitimate purpose of addressing domestic violence cases and rejected claims of cruel and unusual treatment or discrimination.

The application was dismissed.