Harleen Toor

The applicant sought bail pending appeal from convictions for assault, breach of undertaking, and distributing intimate images without consent, together with a custodial sentence totalling 14 months.

The court held that the appeal was not frivolous, surrender was not in issue, and the determinative question was whether detention was necessary in the public interest under s. 679(3) of the Criminal Code.

Applying the public safety and public confidence framework, the court found that a strong surety plan and the applicant's prior compliance on release addressed safety and flight concerns.

The court further found that the proposed conviction appeal raised an arguable circumstantial-evidence burden-of-proof issue under Villaroman and that the sentence appeal was also arguable, while there was a real risk the applicant would serve most or all of the sentence before appeal.

Bail pending appeal was granted.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario granted leave to appeal on three issues arising from the acquittal of Luis Benevides, a worker charged under the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a workplace accident.

The case addresses the proper application of the directed verdict test, the determination of worker responsibility under the Act, and the use of private business contracts in defining statutory obligations.

The court declined to grant leave on the issue of whether the trial justice erred by considering due diligence and foreseeability at the directed verdict stage.