M. Thomaidis

The Crown applied on behalf of the complainant to revoke a publication ban issued under s. 486.4 of the Criminal Code.

The court noted recent amendments to s. 486.51 intended to respect complainant autonomy.

Finding that the ban's purpose is to protect the complainant, not the accused, and that the accused had notice but did not seek their own ban, the court granted the application and revoked the publication ban.

The accused, facing historical sexual abuse charges, brought an application to exclude a recorded telephone conversation between himself and the complainant.

The accused argued the recording was more prejudicial than probative.

The court found the recording had significant probative value, as the accused's failure to deny the allegations and his apology could be construed as an admission.

The court also found no moral or reasoning prejudice would result from its admission.

The application to exclude the evidence was dismissed.

During a trial, the Crown brought an application to admit into evidence an Agreed Statement of Facts that the accused had signed and filed in support of earlier guilty pleas which were subsequently struck.

The court dismissed the application, applying the reasoning from R. v. B.(D.M.), holding that the Agreed Statement of Facts was inextricably linked to the struck guilty pleas and fairness required it to be brought under the same protective umbrella.

The Crown brought an application to admit the notes, diagrams, and Exhibit List prepared by a deceased police officer under the principled exception to the hearsay rule.

The officer had served as the Exhibit Officer during the execution of a search warrant in a child exploitation investigation.

The court found that necessity was established due to the officer's death and that threshold reliability was met given the administrative nature of the task, the officer's conscientious work habits, and the corroborative checks performed by other officers.

The application was granted and the evidence was ruled admissible.