The respondent was charged with failing to wear a seat belt contrary to the Highway Traffic Act.
At trial, the Justice of the Peace convicted the respondent, ruling that the offence was one of absolute liability.
On appeal, the Ontario Court of Justice found the offence to be one of strict liability and entered a stay of proceedings.
The Crown appealed to the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that the offence is one of strict liability, which affords the driver a due diligence defence, as there is no clear legislative intent to rebut the presumption of strict liability for public welfare offences.
