M. Bedini

The accused brought Charter applications challenging the lawfulness of his detention and the admissibility of evidence obtained during a police investigation.

Police officers approached the accused's vehicle parked on school grounds late at night, ostensibly to conduct a sobriety check and enforce trespass laws.

During the encounter, officers detected cannabis and observed cash in the vehicle.

They searched the vehicle under the Cannabis Control Act and discovered fentanyl in the centre console.

The accused was arrested and subsequently provided a videotaped statement to police.

The court found that while the initial detention was lawful, the police violated the accused's Charter rights under sections 10(a) and 10(b) by failing to inform him of the reasons for his detention and his right to counsel.

The court excluded both the fentanyl and the videotaped statement from evidence under section 24(2) of the Charter, finding that admission would bring the administration of justice into disrepute due to systemic Charter breaches by the Peel Regional Police.

The accused pleaded guilty to importing a Schedule 1 substance (ketamine) pursuant to s. 6(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

The accused arrived at Toronto Pearson Airport from Frankfurt, Germany on March 7, 2025, with 7.985 kg of ketamine concealed in his suitcase.

The Crown sought an eight-year custodial sentence, while the defence sought four years with enhanced pre-sentence custody credit.

The court imposed a six-year custodial sentence, reduced by 315 days of Summers credit and 194 days of Duncan credit for harsh detention conditions, resulting in a net sentence of four years and seven months.

Ancillary orders included a mandatory 10-year weapons prohibition, DNA order, and forfeiture order.

The applicant, John Culmer, brought a Charter motion challenging the lawfulness of his arrest, search incident to arrest, breaches of his right to counsel (s. 10(b)), right to silence (s. 7), and arbitrary detention (s. 9) related to overholding for a bail hearing.

The court found the arrest and search incident to arrest lawful, based on reasonable and probable grounds that the applicant was involved in cannabis exportation.

It found that Border Services Officer McLaren breached the applicant's s. 7 and s. 10 Charter rights by questioning him without proper caution and full rights to counsel, and excluded the evidence elicited from this questioning.

However, the court found no breach of the right to counsel of choice and no arbitrary detention regarding the overholding for a bail hearing, citing the public interest due to the applicant's foreign national status and serious charges.

The accused, Laurie Toyka Simon, charged with importing cocaine, brought a motion for a directed verdict of acquittal after the Crown closed its case.

The defence argued that the actus reus of importing was not complete because the suitcase containing the cocaine was abandoned at the airport before clearing Customs.

The court dismissed the motion, ruling that the actus reus was factually completed when the accused physically took possession of the suitcase from the carousel and removed its luggage tag, and legally completed when the drugs crossed the border into Canada, regardless of final customs clearance.

The defendant, Upkaran Sandhu, pleaded guilty to some counts and was acquitted on others, including the main charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

The court found Mr. Sandhu's testimony credible, accepting his explanation that he was a heroin addict who supported his habit with a substantial inheritance.

Despite the presence of drugs and paraphernalia, the court concluded that the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the possession was for trafficking, as the evidence was consistent with personal use by an addict with financial means.

The accused was charged with possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking and several firearms offences after a single-vehicle crash.

The court found the accused was in possession of a handgun and extended magazine found in the vehicle, but acquitted him of the fentanyl charge due to a lack of evidence connecting him to the drugs.

However, the court ultimately acquitted the accused of the firearms offences as well, finding that significant gaps in the continuity of the evidence over a 19-month period raised a reasonable doubt as to whether the items tested by the firearms officer were the same items seized from the accused.