Greg Skerkowski

The applicant, charged with sexual assault and extortion, brought a s. 11(b) Charter application seeking a stay of proceedings due to unreasonable delay.

The total delay exceeded the 30-month presumptive ceiling.

However, the court deducted 73 days of defence delay attributed to the late notice of the s. 11(b) application, bringing the net delay below the ceiling.

The court rejected the Crown's arguments that a conflict in the Crown's office and a change in the assigned trial judge constituted exceptional circumstances.

The application was dismissed.

The offender pleaded guilty to nine charges, including cocaine trafficking and multiple weapons offences, after selling cocaine to undercover operators and being found with a loaded SKS assault rifle and other prohibited weapons.

The court considered the offender's Indigenous heritage, lack of criminal record, and guilty pleas as mitigating factors, balanced against the significant aggravating factor of possessing a loaded firearm for 'insurance' during drug trafficking.

The offender was sentenced to a total of 5 years' imprisonment, less 1 year credit for pre-trial custody, along with a 10-year weapons prohibition and a DNA order.

The applicant, charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder, sought release on bail pending trial.

The Crown alleged the applicant shot and killed one victim and attempted to shoot another.

The applicant argued self-defence, presenting evidence that he was the target of a racially motivated robbery conspiracy by the deceased.

The court found the applicant met his onus on the primary, secondary, and tertiary grounds, noting weaknesses in the Crown's case, the racial context of the incident, the strength of the proposed release plan, and the risks posed by a Covid-19 outbreak at the detention centre.

Bail was granted with strict conditions, including GPS monitoring and house arrest.

The accused, charged with sexual offences, brought a motion for directions seeking a declaration that the court was bound by a previous Superior Court decision (R. v. Reddick) which struck down sections 278.92, 278.94(2), and 278.94(3) of the Criminal Code as unconstitutional.

The accused argued this would bypass the need to file a formal Notice of Constitutional Question under Rule 27.

The court dismissed the motion, applying the Court of Appeal's reasoning in R. v. Sullivan that the ordinary principles of stare decisis apply to declarations of invalidity by trial courts, and directed the accused to follow the formal procedure to challenge the provisions.

The Crown applied for leave to introduce prior disreputable conduct evidence regarding the history of the relationship between the accused and the complainant.

The evidence was to be introduced through the complainant's testimony and facts admitted during four prior guilty plea proceedings.

The defence did not oppose the admission of this evidence.

The court exercised its gatekeeper function and, relying on established jurisprudence regarding intimate partner abuse, ruled that the evidence of prior acts was admissible.

The court granted the Crown's application.

The applicant, awaiting sentencing for sexual assault, brought a motion to vacate his interim release under s. 523(2)(c) of the Criminal Code so he could immediately surrender into custody.

Due to COVID-19, in-person hearings were suspended, delaying his sentencing.

The applicant sought to begin serving his anticipated custodial sentence to expedite his return to society and his parenting responsibilities.

The Crown consented, and the court granted the motion, finding cause was shown to vacate the release and allow the applicant to surrender to police pending a virtual sentencing hearing.