Court of Appeal for Ontario

Citation: R. v. Old Navy Property Corporation, 2014 ONCA 471 Date: 20140616 Docket: C55683

Judges: Doherty, Rouleau and Benotto JJ.A.

Between:

Her Majesty the Queen Respondent

and

Old Navy Property Corporation Appellant

Counsel: Leonard Hochberg, for the appellant Tom Andreopoulos and Niall Gilks, for the respondent

Heard: June 13, 2014

On appeal from the sentence imposed by Justice Forestell of the Superior Court of Justice, June 7, 2012.

APPEAL BOOK ENDORSEMENT

[1] The application was brought under s. 16 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (the “CDSA”). The forfeiture order was made under s. 16(1). Section 16(3) expressly limits the right of appeal from that order to the “person convicted” or the Attorney General. The appellant is neither. The statute does not grant a right of appeal to persons who were not accused, but claim an interest in the property on a s. 16 application: see R. v. Talbot, 2012 ONCA 460 at para. 4.

[2] It may well be that there is an anomaly between the absence of a right of appeal under s. 16 for third parties and the availability of an appeal under s. 20 from an application for relief from forfeiture brought by the same party. That anomaly does not, however, assist the appellant in the face of the clear language of s. 16(3) for the CDSA. There is no right of appeal.

[3] The appeal is quashed.