Michael N. Varpio

The moving parties sought leave to appeal an order that dissolved a previously granted Mareva injunction.

The Divisional Court granted leave to appeal, stayed the impugned order, and restored the Mareva injunction pending the final disposition of the appeal.

The court also ordered an expedited schedule for the exchange of appeal materials and awarded costs of the motion to the moving parties.

The moving parties brought a motion for leave to appeal the decision of Perfetto J. dated March 24, 2025.

The Divisional Court reviewed the written materials submitted by the parties.

The motion for leave to appeal was dismissed.

The moving parties were ordered to pay costs of $5,853.40 to the responding party within thirty days.

The moving parties sought leave to appeal a decision of Howie J. dated February 10, 2025.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion for leave to appeal and ordered the moving parties to pay costs of $9,085 to the responding party within thirty days.

The decision concerns the trial of T.D., who was charged with sexual offences against two complainants, H.M. and E.C. The court reviews the evidence of both complainants, the accused, and other witnesses, and applies the law regarding credibility, collusion, and similar fact evidence.

The court finds the accused guilty of sexual offences against E.C. but not guilty regarding H.M., due to concerns about H.M.'s credibility and inconsistencies in her evidence, including a statement suggesting a motive to fabricate.

The judgment provides a detailed analysis of the law on credibility, delayed disclosure, demeanor, motive to fabricate, and the use of similar fact evidence.

The court considered a Crown application to admit similar fact evidence in a sexual assault prosecution involving two complainants, H.M. and E.C. The court found that the probative value of the evidence, including the similarity of the alleged conduct, the relationship of the complainants to the accused, and the timing and location of the events, outweighed any prejudicial effect.

The court also addressed the issue of possible collusion between the complainants and found that, on a balance of probabilities, the evidence was not tainted by collusion.

The application to admit the similar fact evidence was granted.

In this supplemental family law decision, the court addressed outstanding issues regarding a "no trespass" order, child support, and costs.

The court maintained the "no trespass" order preventing the mother from attending the children's school, subject to the children's preferences communicated through the Office of the Children's Lawyer.

Child support arrears were assessed at $28,570.12, and the mother's ongoing child support was set at $264 per month based on an imputed annual income of $31,000 due to her injury and childcare responsibilities.

Finally, finding that the mother acted in bad faith by protracting the litigation, the court ordered her to pay full indemnity costs of $14,286.19 over a 24-month period.

La décision porte sur la détermination de la peine pour l’importation de 215 kg de cocaïne de haute pureté par Alain Paré.

Après avoir examiné les faits aggravants et atténuants, la jurisprudence pertinente et les objectifs de la peine, la Cour impose une peine de 16 ans d’emprisonnement, en plus du temps déjà purgé, ainsi que diverses ordonnances accessoires.

La décision analyse en détail la gravité de l’infraction et la nécessité de dénonciation et de dissuasion.

This decision concerns a motion by Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc. to discharge or reduce a construction lien registered by Scott Steel Erectors Inc. in relation to the Magino Gold Mine project.

The court addresses whether Scott Steel could register a lien for work performed under multiple subcontracts, including work by a related entity, Scott Concrete Services Inc., and whether the lien was willfully exaggerated by the inclusion of delay damages.

The court finds that there is a triable issue regarding the application of promissory estoppel and the treatment of the subcontracts "as one" but holds that there is no triable issue as to delay damages under certain subcontracts.

The lien is reduced to $23,670,377.46 plus HST.

The court sentenced R.B. to three years in custody after he pleaded guilty to sexual touching of a child under s. 151 of the Criminal Code.

The decision reviews the facts, the impact on the victim, the offender’s background, and the applicable law, including the Supreme Court’s guidance in R. v. Friesen on sentencing for sexual offences against children.

The court considered aggravating and mitigating factors, including the breach of trust, the victim’s age, and the offender’s health and plea.

The court imposed several ancillary orders, including DNA, SOIRA, and firearms prohibitions.

Joseph Pauze was sentenced for possessing fentanyl for the purposes of trafficking and crystal methamphetamine.

The Crown sought a penitentiary term of 4-8 years for fentanyl and 3-6 months consecutive for methamphetamine, while the defendant sought a conditional sentence.

The court considered the dangerous nature of fentanyl, the local opioid crisis, the defendant's lengthy criminal record including prior trafficking convictions, and mitigating factors such as his age, poor health, and cooperation.

The court found the trafficking level to be beyond street level and emphasized denunciation and deterrence.

A six-year sentence for fentanyl trafficking and a concurrent six-month sentence for methamphetamine possession were imposed, along with forfeiture, a lifetime weapons prohibition, and a DNA order.

The Mother and Grandmother sought to vary a final parenting order, requesting week-about parenting, shared decision-making, and mandatory reunification therapy.

The court dismissed their applications, finding no material change in circumstances and that the proposed changes were not in the children's best interests, giving significant weight to the children's clear and consistent views.

The court also ordered the Mother to seek leave before filing future motions due to her extensive litigation history.

The accused was charged with multiple drug and weapons offences following the execution of a search warrant at his residence.

Police located four individuals in the home, along with significant quantities of narcotics, drug paraphernalia, cash, and firearms.

The court applied the principles of constructive possession to determine whether the accused had knowledge and control of the seized items.

The accused was found guilty of possessing the items located in his personal bedroom, including a rifle under the bed, but was acquitted of possessing items found in common areas or in the immediate vicinity of other occupants.

Joseph Pauze was found guilty of possession of crystal methamphetamine and possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking.

The accused was stopped for a traffic violation, and a subsequent search incident to arrest revealed the narcotics.

Pauze admitted to possessing crystal methamphetamine for personal use but denied knowledge of the fentanyl, claiming it belonged to the car's owner, a known drug dealer.

The court rejected Pauze's testimony as illogical and untrustworthy, finding that he was in actual possession of the fentanyl.

Given the significant value of the fentanyl and the presence of drug paraphernalia, the court inferred that the possession was for the purpose of trafficking, leading to a conviction on all counts.

In a family law trial concerning parenting and relocation, the court determined the child's best interests under s. 16 of the Divorce Act and the relocation provisions in ss. 16.9, 16.92 and 16.93.

The court found that, although both parents loved the child, the mother's alcohol use, instability, threatening communications, and repeated exposure of the child to traumatic conflict created meaningful risks to the child's emotional and psychological well-being.

The father's plan in Hornepayne was found to offer greater stability, family support, and cultural connection, despite concerns about his communication and mental health management.

The child's primary residence was therefore ordered to be with the father in Hornepayne, with extensive parenting time to the mother, while child and spousal support were deferred.

This decision concerns the sentencing of Mr. Brad Southwind for second-degree murder.

The court determined the period of parole ineligibility, which is set at 15 years.

The judge considered aggravating factors such as the brutal nature of the crime (17 stab wounds), elements of planning, and the offender's lengthy criminal record with violent entries.

Mitigating factors included the offender's indigenous background (Gladue factors), severe mental health issues (drug-induced psychosis), and substance abuse, which impacted his ability to participate in reports.

Despite the need for judicial restraint for Indigenous offenders, the court emphasized denunciation and deterrence due to the heinous nature of the crime and the offender's violent history.

The plaintiff, Terrence Manuel, brought a claim against Lafarge Canada Inc. for damages arising from alleged workplace sexual harassment.

Manuel was terminated and signed a release.

Lafarge moved for summary judgment to enforce the release and dismiss the claim, while Manuel cross-moved to invalidate the release on grounds of lack of capacity, duress, and unconscionability.

The court granted Lafarge's motion and dismissed Manuel's, finding insufficient admissible evidence to support Manuel's claims of diminished capacity or that the release was signed under duress or was unconscionable.

The court emphasized the plaintiff's failure to provide qualified expert medical evidence linking his alleged psychological symptoms to the harassment or demonstrating a lack of capacity.

This decision concerns the youth sentencing of J.S., who was found guilty of attempted murder, aggravated assault, and sexual assault after a jury trial.

The Crown's application to sentence J.S. as an adult was previously dismissed.

The court applied the principles of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), emphasizing accountability, rehabilitation, and reintegration, while also considering the diminished moral blameworthiness of youth.

Aggravating factors included intimate partner violence, use of a weapon, unprovoked attack, victim vulnerability, serious injuries, and the offender leaving the victim to die.

Mitigating factors included no prior record and a pro-social life.

The court imposed a blended youth sentence, balancing denunciation and deterrence with rehabilitation, resulting in secure custody, open custody, and community supervision.

This endorsement addresses a pre-trial motion concerning the translation of approximately 8300 pages of English-language source documents, including technical reports from a cell phone search, for a self-represented francophone accused with limited English proficiency.

The Crown argued that consecutive interpretation would suffice, while the accused demanded full translation.

The court, emphasizing the accused's linguistic rights under the Charter and his self-represented status, ordered the Crown to translate all source documents and expert reports necessary for the defence.

The resulting adjournment of the trial was attributed to the accused due to his renunciation of previous concessions made by his former counsel.

The accused was charged with sexual assault following an encounter with the complainant in his truck.

The complainant passed away after testifying at the preliminary hearing, and her prior statements and testimony were admitted at trial.

The accused testified that the encounter was a consensual sex trade transaction and admitted to initially lying to police.

The court applied the W.(D.) framework to assess credibility and found that while the accused's evidence was largely rejected, material inconsistencies in the complainant's hearsay evidence, without the benefit of viva voce testimony, left the court with a reasonable doubt.

The accused was acquitted.

The self-represented accused applied for a change of venue from Sarnia to Ottawa, arguing that Sarnia lacked a sufficient francophone population for a French jury panel, lacked bilingual court staff, and that Ottawa would be more convenient for his prospective counsel based in Montreal.

The court dismissed the application, finding that census data showed a sufficient bilingual population in Lambton County, the provincial government confirmed bilingual staff would be available, and the convenience of counsel or the accused alone is insufficient to displace the strong presumption that a trial should be held where the offence occurred.