Kimberley Gale Reid Johnson

This ruling addresses the admissibility of statements made by the accused, Nathaniel Veltman, who was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder following an incident where he drove his vehicle into a Muslim family.

The defence sought to exclude statements made to a 911 call-taker, spontaneous statements to arresting officers, and two videotaped statements to a police detective, arguing involuntariness and breaches of the accused's s. 10(b) Charter rights.

The court found all statements to be voluntary beyond a reasonable doubt.

While acknowledging some technical s. 10(b) Charter breaches by arresting officers due to exigent circumstances and delays at the police station, the court determined these were made in good faith and that a "fresh start" was achieved by the detective's thorough re-cautioning.

The court concluded that the accused had an "irresistible desire to speak" and would have made the statements regardless of the breaches, thus rendering them admissible under s. 24(2) of the Charter.

The accused brought a motion seeking leave to communicate with defence counsel between the completion of the Crown's cross-examination and the commencement of re-examination, contrary to the presumptive Ontario Rules of Professional Conduct.

The court granted the motion, finding that the constitutional rights to a fair trial and full answer and defence, coupled with the gravity and complexity of the charges (four counts of first-degree murder and one of attempted murder) and the extensive nature of the accused's testimony, justified a departure from the rule.

The ruling permits counsel and client to discuss both the decision to re-examine and the proper scope of re-examination.

The Crown sought a permanent publication ban on excerpts from the accused's "A White Awakening" manifesto and video footage depicting the incident, arguing public harm and inspiration for copycat crimes.

The media coalition opposed the ban, emphasizing the open court principle and the importance of public information.

The court dismissed the ban on manifesto excerpts, finding no serious risk from responsible media reporting, but ordered the unredacted manifesto sealed until trial conclusion and limited video access to exclude the moment of impact.

The accused, facing charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder, applied for a mental condition assessment under s. 672.11(b) of the Criminal Code to explore a Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) defence.

The defence sought the assessment without disclosing specific grounds to the court or the Crown, and requested that the resulting report not be shared unless and until the defence decided to lead the evidence at trial, citing solicitor-client privilege and fair trial rights.

The Crown opposed on the basis of lack of grounds and security concerns regarding the accused's transfer to Ottawa.

The court granted the assessment, relying on counsel's assertion of grounds and the constitutional imperative of a fair trial, and ordered the report to be prepared but disclosed only to the defence, allowing them to decide whether to use it at trial, thereby protecting solicitor-client privilege.

The court also allowed the assessment to take place at a location of the psychiatrist's choice in Ottawa, balancing efficiency and security.

The accused brought two applications: one seeking a variation of bail conditions based on an alleged material change in circumstances, and another seeking further disclosure from the Crown.

The disclosure request targeted confidential informant files, occurrence reports, redacted officer notes, and additional police notebook entries.

The court reviewed the law governing informer privilege and disclosure obligations under Stinchcombe, emphasizing that informer privilege is near-absolute and cannot be balanced against other interests except where innocence is at stake.

The court held that the requested informant materials were protected by privilege and that additional materials sought were either irrelevant or outside the investigative file relied upon for the search warrants.

Finding that disclosure had been provided in a reasonably timely and adequate manner, the court concluded that no material change in circumstances justified varying the accused’s bail.