The Attorney General of Ontario applied for a forfeiture order under the Civil Remedies Act, 2001, regarding $48,575 in Canadian currency seized by police.
The Attorney General argued the currency was proceeds and/or an instrument of unlawful activity.
An interested party, Mathew Ross-Young, claimed the funds were legitimate life savings and sought dismissal of the application.
The court, applying the balance of probabilities standard, found the currency to be proceeds and an instrument of unlawful activity, citing suspicious circumstances including large bundled cash, proximity to drugs and drug paraphernalia, inconsistent explanations from the interested party, and a lack of credible financial records.
The court emphasized that forfeiture under the Civil Remedies Act is a civil matter not requiring criminal charges or convictions, and that police opinion evidence is admissible.
The court found no "interests of justice" considerations to weigh against forfeiture and granted the application, ordering the forfeiture of the currency to the Crown.