M. Sherwood

A landscaping company was convicted of operating a pit without a licence under the Aggregate Resources Act after removing rocks and boulders from farmland to facilitate the construction of a fence.

The company appealed, arguing that the excavation was for the purpose of building a structure (a fence) and therefore fell within the statutory exemption.

The appellate court allowed the appeal and entered an acquittal, finding that the primary purpose of the excavation was to facilitate the building of a fence, which constitutes a structure within the meaning of the Act's exemption.

The accused was charged with impaired driving and driving with over 80 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood following an incident on March 15, 2014.

The Crown invited acquittal on the impaired driving charge due to insufficient evidence of actual impairment.

The trial focused on Charter violations: whether the arrest and breath demand were made on reasonable and probable grounds (Section 8), whether breath samples were taken as soon as practicable, and whether the accused's detention for a show cause hearing was lawful (Section 9).

The court found the arrest was made without sufficient grounds, the breath samples were obtained in violation of Section 8 rights, and the detention was unlawful and arbitrary based solely on the accused's status as a non-citizen.

The court excluded the breath sample evidence under Section 24(2) and granted a stay of proceedings based on systemic police training failures regarding release provisions.