Natasha J. Calvinho

The applicant, an alleged leader of the Freedom Convoy 2022, sought a bail review after being detained on secondary and tertiary grounds.

He argued a material change in circumstances based on his five months in custody, health issues, and a new bail plan with four proposed sureties.

The court found a material change in circumstances and conducted a fresh review.

Despite the serious nature of the mischief and counselling charges, and new perjury charges arising from his first bail hearing, the court concluded that the proposed strict bail plan, which included relocating to Alberta and strong supervision by new sureties, adequately addressed the secondary and tertiary ground concerns.

The applicant was granted release on bail.

The accused, a 65-year-old sports coach, was charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation, and forcible confinement after allegedly giving a 17-year-old athlete a full-body massage at his home.

The accused testified that the massage was strictly for recovery purposes and denied any sexual touching or confinement.

Applying the W.(D.) framework, the court disbelieved the accused's evidence but found that the totality of the evidence, including timeline inconsistencies and contradictory text messages, left a reasonable doubt.

The accused was acquitted of all charges.

Two accused were jointly tried for multiple offences arising from a home invasion in which one perpetrator posed as a pizza delivery driver to gain entry and threaten the occupants with a handgun while another attempted to duct-tape one victim.

Fingerprint evidence connected both accused to a pizza box used as a decoy, and the court considered whether that evidence, together with eyewitness descriptions, proved identity beyond a reasonable doubt.

The court held that the cumulative evidence established that one accused was the intruder carrying the pizza box and handgun.

However, the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the handgun was a real firearm within the meaning of the Criminal Code where the weapon was not recovered and eyewitness observations were limited.

The court also addressed the Kienapple principle and found no legal nexus between robbery and attempted unlawful confinement, allowing separate convictions.

Convictions were entered for break and enter, robbery, and attempted unlawful confinement, with several firearm-related counts resulting in acquittals.

The Crown applied under s. 657.3 of the Criminal Code to have a prior Charter ruling from a first trial applied to a second trial after the first proceeding ended in a mistrial.

The mistrial had been declared when the trial judge disclosed a personal relationship with a key investigating officer, giving rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias.

The Crown argued that, pursuant to s. 653.1 of the Criminal Code, evidentiary and Charter rulings made before the merits stage should remain binding in the retrial unless contrary to the interests of justice.

The court held that the integrity of the justice system and the requirement of impartial adjudication outweighed efficiency concerns.

Given the risk that the public might perceive the earlier ruling as tainted by unconscious bias, the Charter application should be reheard.

In a joint prosecution for drug trafficking and firearm possession, the accused brought a motion seeking disclosure of police occurrence reports relating to prior charges against each accused that had been withdrawn, stayed, or resulted in acquittals.

The request was framed as a third‑party records application under the regime established in R. v. O’Connor.

The court considered whether such materials met the first‑stage threshold of “likely relevance” in relation to credibility, character, and propensity issues anticipated at trial where each accused intended to blame the other.

The court held that occurrence reports relating to withdrawn allegations of drug trafficking and possession of stolen property could meet the low threshold of logical relevance for disclosure purposes.

Production to the court of limited police synopsis “front sheets” relating to the withdrawn charges was ordered for judicial review, subject to Crown redactions for privilege and a later balancing of privacy interests against the right to full answer and defence.

The accused, a public servant with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, was convicted of multiple counts of fraud on the government and breach of trust for accepting money to provide preferential treatment to immigration applicants.

The court considered the accused's Aboriginal heritage under Gladue principles but found no causal link to the offences.

Emphasizing denunciation and general deterrence for breach of trust by a public official, the court sentenced the accused to four years' incarceration concurrently on all counts.

During a criminal trial for immigration-related offences, the Crown brought an application under s. 9(1) of the Canada Evidence Act to declare its own witness adverse and hostile.

The witness, a former co-accused who had previously pled guilty, was evasive, repeatedly claimed memory loss, and refused to refresh his memory from his prior Agreed Statement of Facts and preliminary inquiry testimony.

The court found the witness to be both adverse under the Act and hostile at common law, noting his clear motive to protect the accused and his refusal to provide helpful evidence.

The Crown was granted leave to cross-examine the witness at large.

During a trial for immigration fraud, the Crown brought a KGB application to admit the prior inconsistent statements of a hostile witness, specifically his guilty pleas and an Agreed Statement of Facts from his own related trial.

The witness had been uncooperative and claimed memory loss regarding the respondent's involvement.

The court found that the criteria of necessity and threshold reliability were met on a balance of probabilities.

The application was granted, and the statements were admitted to prove the truth of their contents, although the court ultimately assigned them virtually no weight.

The accused, an acting operations supervisor at Citizenship and Immigration Canada, was charged with multiple counts of fraud on the government and breach of trust by a public officer.

She participated in a joint enterprise with an immigration consultant to expedite and favorably process immigration applications in exchange for money and benefits.

The court found that the accused breached the standard of responsibility and conduct demanded of her office by disclosing confidential information, providing preferential treatment, and accepting benefits.

The accused was found guilty on all counts except one count of bribery.