2 total
Committal for trial quashed and costs awarded due to systemic violations of accused's language rights.
The appellant, a francophone, was charged alongside anglophone co-accused.
A bilingual preliminary inquiry was held.
The Crown assigned unilingual anglophone prosecutors, provided English-only disclosure and notices, and the court refused to provide a bilingual court reporter or issue interlocutory judgments in French.
The certiorari judge found language rights violations but denied a remedy.
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding systemic failure by the Crown and the preliminary inquiry judge to respect the equality of official languages.
The committal for trial was quashed and costs were awarded to the appellant.
Leave to appeal denied; pellet gun not a weapon without evidence of harmful intent.
The respondent was acquitted of carrying a concealed weapon after police found a gas-powered pellet gun in his waistband.
The trial judge and summary conviction appeal court held that a pellet gun is only a weapon if there is evidence it was used or intended to be used for a harmful purpose.
The Crown sought leave to appeal, arguing a pellet gun is a firearm and therefore a weapon regardless of intent.
The Court of Appeal denied leave, finding it was bound by its previous decision in McManus, which held that a pellet gun is not a weapon unless used or intended for a dangerous purpose.
