This application sought to vary or rescind a 2019 consent order that granted the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) access to the applicant's youth court records.
The applicant, a law school graduate, had disclosed a youth conviction for murder in her 2016 LSO admission application, leading to a "good character" investigation.
The court determined that under section 82 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), once a youth disposition has ceased to have effect, the young person is conclusively deemed not to have been found guilty or convicted of the offence.
This statutory "pardon" means the conviction effectively never existed and cannot be used by the LSO Tribunal for good character assessment.
The court also found that the LSO's application form question, which compelled the applicant to disclose her youth record, was legally incorrect and misleading.
Consequently, the original access order was rescinded, as its intended purpose of using the conviction was legally impermissible.
