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An Indigenous offender was sentenced to seven years in prison for sexually assaulting his child and making child pornography.
B.H. was sentenced for sexual assault, making child pornography (victim was his 16-year-old daughter), and careless storage of a firearm.
The court considered an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Supplementary Agreed Statement of Facts.
The victim impact statement highlighted the profound harm caused to the victim and her family.
The court applied sentencing principles under the Criminal Code, including denunciation, deterrence, and rehabilitation, and specifically addressed the impact of R. v. Friesen on sentences for child sexual offences.
The court also applied Gladue principles, acknowledging the defendant's Indigenous heritage and its intergenerational effects, which led to a reduction in the otherwise proportionate sentence.
A global sentence of seven years incarceration was imposed, along with several ancillary orders.
Primary residence granted to mother with a phased, unsupervised parenting schedule for the father.
The parties, parents of a toddler, brought cross-motions for temporary parenting time and decision-making.
The respondent father sought week-about residency and alleged the applicant mother had mental health issues and drug use.
The applicant mother sought supervised contact for the father and exclusion of his fiancé, citing unspecified concerns from the Children's Aid Society (CAS).
The court found both parties' affidavits unhelpful and criticized the applicant's attempt to use CAS as leverage.
Based on the parties' historical actions and CAS investigations finding no risk, the court ordered the child to reside primarily with the applicant mother, with a ramp-up schedule for the respondent father's parenting time.
The applicant was granted decision-making authority.
The court emphasized the need for parties to mature and focus on the child's best interests.
No costs were awarded.
The court granted the father sole custody on a summary judgment motion due to the mother's untreated mental illness and past violence.
S.D. brought a motion for summary judgment seeking sole custody of the two children of the marriage and access for R.J. in accordance with the children's wishes.
The court reviewed R.J.'s history of mental illness, non-compliance with medication, and past violence towards one child, as well as the children's expressed preferences to live with S.D. and have supervised, limited contact with R.J. The court found no genuine issue requiring a trial for custody and access, concluding that it was in the children's best interests to grant S.D. sole custody and R.J. access consistent with the children's wishes, contingent on R.J.'s compliance with treatment.
The motion for partial summary judgment was allowed.
The court awarded full indemnity costs of over $1.4 million against the respondent husband and a corporate respondent due to their bad faith, deliberate non-disclosure, and reprehensible conduct in complex matrimonial litigation.
The court determined costs for consolidated matrimonial and civil proceedings.
Barbara Ann Blatherwick sought full indemnity costs from Brian Earl Blatherwick and joint and several costs from Seasons (H.K.) Limited.
The court found Brian Earl Blatherwick acted in bad faith throughout the litigation, engaged in deliberate non-disclosure, and complicated the proceedings, warranting full indemnity costs.
Barbara Ann Blatherwick was awarded $1,401,031.31 against him.
Seasons (H.K.) Limited was also found to have acted in bad faith and engaged in reprehensible conduct by presenting false documents and evasive evidence, leading to an award of full indemnity costs of $147,877.41 against it.
This amount was included in the award against Brian Earl Blatherwick and made joint and several to that extent only.
The court rejected a broader joint and several liability for Seasons (H.K.) due to lack of notice and policy concerns regarding consolidation.
Court outlines disclosure obligations in quasi-criminal civil contempt proceedings against a party's former lawyers.
In the context of a family law dispute, the applicant brought a contempt motion against the respondent's former lawyers for allegedly receiving funds in breach of a Mareva injunction.
Both the applicant and the alleged contemnors brought motions for documentary production.
The court held that because contempt is a quasi-criminal proceeding, the alleged contemnors are not subject to the automatic disclosure obligations of the Rules of Civil Procedure and have a right against self-incrimination.
The court dismissed the applicant's request for an affidavit of documents but granted a preservation order against the lawyers.
The court also ordered the applicant to produce relevant communications to the alleged contemnors to allow them to make full answer and defence.