Hannah Drennan

The appellant appealed his sentence of two years less a day imposed for theft over $5,000, forgery, and possession of stolen property over $5,000 for the purpose of trafficking.

The appellant had stolen the famous "Roaring Lion" portrait photograph of Winston Churchill by Yousuf Karsh from the Château Laurier Hotel in Ottawa, replaced it with a forgery, and sold the original through an auction house in London.

The majority upheld the sentence, finding no error in principle and that the sentence was not demonstrably unfit.

The dissenting judge found errors in principle in the sentencing judge's approach to establishing the sentencing range, particularly in relying on foreign precedents and narrowing focus to art crimes, and would have substituted a conditional sentence.

Tamara Lich and Christopher Barber were convicted of mischief arising from their leadership roles in the Freedom Convoy, which gridlocked Ottawa from January 29 to February 18, 2022.

Barber was additionally convicted of counselling others to disobey a Court Order.

The Crown sought unprecedented custodial sentences of seven years for Lich and eight years for Barber.

The defence sought absolute discharges or non-custodial dispositions.

The court imposed conditional sentences of 18 months for Barber (concurrent with 3 months for the counselling conviction) and 15.5 months for Lich (after crediting 74 days pre-sentence custody), with strict conditions including house arrest, curfews, and community service.

The court rejected both the Crown's punitive approach and the defence's request for discharges, finding that conditional sentences with onerous conditions could achieve denunciation and deterrence while respecting principles of proportionality and restraint.

This decision concerns the theft of a culturally and historically significant original silver gelatin print of Winston Churchill, known as "The Roaring Lion," taken by Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh.

The accused, Jeffrey Wood, an art dealer, stole the portrait from the Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa, replaced it with a forged copy, and trafficked the original internationally through Sotheby’s auction house.

The court emphasized the unique cultural value of the artwork, the aggravating factors of forgery and trafficking, and the international scope of the crime.

After considering sentencing principles, including restraint for a first offender, the court imposed a sentence of two years less a day, concurrent on all counts, reflecting the seriousness of the offence and the mitigating factors.

This decision concerns the manslaughter charge against Ian Rooney for the unlawful death of Yu Kun Xie.

The Crown alleged that Rooney's disproportionate response to Ms. Xie's aggressive behavior, including a blow to her face, caused a fatal brain injury, and that his failure to seek timely medical help constituted criminal negligence.

The trial judge found Rooney's evidence unreliable but accepted that Ms. Xie assaulted him and that his response was in self-defence and reasonable under the circumstances.

The judge further found that although Rooney's cancellation of 911 calls was reckless and a marked departure from reasonable conduct, the Crown failed to prove causation between this conduct and Ms. Xie's death.

Consequently, the manslaughter charge was dismissed.

This judgment addresses pre-trial motions concerning the voluntariness of a statement made by the accused to police and alleged breaches of the accused's Charter rights under sections 10(a) and 10(b).

The accused was initially arrested for aggravated assault, and later cautioned and 'arrested' for murder as the victim's condition worsened.

The defence argued police trickery regarding the victim's health status and failure to re-advise of the right to counsel upon change in jeopardy.

The court found the statement voluntary, concluding that the accused was aware of the extent of their jeopardy and that police conduct did not constitute trickery that would shock the community.

The court also found no breach of Charter rights, as the accused was informed of the change in jeopardy and had opportunities to consult counsel.