2 total
Provocation defence lacked air of reality; second degree murder conviction restored.
The accused was convicted at trial of second degree murder after stabbing the deceased six times during a bar altercation.
The majority of the Court of Appeal overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial, finding an air of reality to the defence of provocation.
The Crown appealed as of right.
The Supreme Court of Canada, applying a correctness standard of review, found no error in the trial judge's determination that there was no air of reality to the provocation defence.
On the evidence, the accused did not act 'on the sudden' before passion could cool — his reaction was the culmination of an altercation he both instigated and anticipated, and he had time and opportunity to reflect before stabbing the deceased.
The court dismissed three motions for extensions of time to seek leave to appeal due to unjustified delays and lack of merit.
The applicant brought three motions seeking extensions of time to seek leave to appeal from dismissals by lower appeal courts of his convictions on three separate charges: one assault on a police officer conviction from 1993, and two provincial offences convictions from 2014-2015 under the Trespass to Property Act.
The Court of Appeal dismissed all three motions.
For the 1993 conviction, the applicant's delay of nearly 23 years was found to be inordinate and unjustifiable, with no bona fide intention to appeal demonstrated within the prescribed time.
For the two provincial offences convictions, the applicant's delay of over three months was inadequately explained, and the proposed appeals failed to meet the high threshold for granting leave to appeal under the Provincial Offences Act, as they involved questions of fact rather than law alone.
