Jean-Marc Fradette

The Court dismissed the Crown’s appeal and held that certiorari in criminal matters is available to parties only for jurisdictional error by a provincial court judge.

It rejected broader approaches permitting review of errors of law on the face of the record, emphasizing the prohibition on interlocutory criminal appeals and the need to avoid delay and fragmentation.

The provincial court judge’s order involved legal error, not jurisdictional error, so certiorari could not issue.

In this criminal appeal, wildlife and fisheries officers challenged convictions for assault causing bodily harm after a warrantless arrest attempt.

The officers argued they were entitled to a stay because they had relied on officially induced error of law.

The Court held that the conditions for that defence were not met, particularly that the advice was not from an appropriate official and was not objectively reasonable.

The appeal was dismissed and the convictions were upheld.

The court allowed the appeal and restored acquittals on impaired care or control charges.

The majority held that a realistic risk of danger is an essential element of care or control under s. 253(1), and that the trial judge's finding of no realistic risk was factual, not an error of law alone.

Because Crown appeals from acquittal are limited to errors of law alone, the convictions entered by the appellate court were set aside.