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The Court of Appeal dismissed the appellant's appeals against conviction and sentence, finding no abuse of process in the Crown's election to proceed by indictment and no unreasonable delay under the transitional Jordan framework.
The appellant was charged with making available and possession of child pornography following a lawful search of his residence and computer that revealed over 3,900 unique images, with 750 immediately accessible and evidence of active sharing through file-sharing software.
The appellant pleaded guilty to making available child pornography and was sentenced to the mandatory minimum of 12 months imprisonment less credit for pre-sentence custody, plus probation and ancillary orders.
On appeal, the appellant challenged his conviction and sentence on three grounds: (1) abuse of process arising from the Crown's election to proceed by indictment rather than summarily; (2) improper treatment of a Notice of Constitutional Question; and (3) unreasonable delay in breach of section 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Court of Appeal dismissed all grounds of appeal, finding no abuse of process, no valid constitutional question, and that the delay, while substantial at approximately 38 months, was reasonable under both the transitional Morin framework and the new Jordan framework, given the complexity of child pornography investigations, the appellant's own conduct causing delay, minimal prejudice, and the seriousness of the offence.
Plaintiff awarded $5,000 in general damages for defamation in an undefended trial.
The plaintiff brought an undefended action for defamation against two defendants regarding a letter distributed in their First Nations community.
The court dismissed the action against one defendant due to insufficient evidence of her involvement in creating or distributing the letter.
The court found the second defendant liable for defamation, as she signed the letter which imputed improper conduct to the plaintiff.
The court awarded $5,000 in general damages but dismissed claims for aggravated, punitive, and income loss damages due to lack of evidence.
