John J. Semenoff

The City of Kingston operated a municipal dump site from which toxic leachate migrated into the Cataraqui River.

The Crown and a private citizen laid charges under s. 36(3) of the Fisheries Act.

The trial judge convicted the City and its Director of Environmental Services, but the summary conviction appeal judge ordered a new trial, applying the test from R. v. Inco Ltd. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and restored the convictions, holding that the Inco test applies to the Ontario Water Resources Act, not the Fisheries Act.

Under the Fisheries Act, the Crown need only prove that the substance added to the water is deleterious, not that the receiving water itself was rendered deleterious.

The Crown applied for special leave to appeal a decision upholding a non-suit in a prosecution against Petro Canada.

The Crown argued that the Justice of the Peace erred in refusing to admit a letter and its enclosures into evidence.

The Court of Appeal denied special leave, noting that while the Justice of the Peace may have erred in excluding the evidence, the case did not warrant special leave.