Court File and Parties

Court of Appeal for Ontario Date: 20210409 Docket: M52083 (C68555)

Before: Pardu, Brown and Paciocco JJ.A.

Between: Her Majesty the Queen Respondent

And: Zulfiqar Ali Applicant

Counsel: Zulfiqar Ali, acting in person Nicole Rivers, for the respondent

Heard: April 6, 2021 by video conference

Reasons for Decision

[1] The applicant asks this panel to review the decision of a single judge of this court refusing an extension of time.

[2] The applicant was convicted on April 3, 2018 of failure to comply with a term of an undertaking requiring that he not communicate with the mother of his son and, on August 24, 2018, of an assault, for slapping his son on the face. He received 15 months’ probation for the breach of undertaking, and he was ordered to enter into a common law peace bond. He received a conditional discharge for the assault, with one year of probation.

[3] The applicant appealed to the summary conviction appeal court, and his appeal was dismissed on November 1, 2018. He had not filed the transcripts of the trials and there was no basis for the summary conviction appeal court judge to assess his claims of error. Some 20 months later, the applicant sought an order from this court seeking an extension of time within which to seek leave to appeal from the summary conviction appeal court dismissal.

[4] On October 5, 2020, MacPherson J.A. dismissed the application for an extension on the grounds that there was no explanation for the delay, no evidence that the applicant had formed a bona fide intention to appeal in a timely fashion, and on the ground that there was no apparent merit to the appeal. The applicant attempted to appeal this refusal to the Supreme Court of Canada, which would not entertain the matter. The applicant then returned to this court, seeking an extension of time to seek a panel review of the decision of MacPherson J.A. That application was also dismissed on December 29, 2020 by Coroza J.A., who concluded that there was no merit to the appeal and that the applicant could not satisfy the test for granting leave to appeal to this court from the summary conviction appeal judge. Coroza J.A. also concluded that there were no new or changed circumstances that would justify a departure from the decision of MacPherson J.A.

[5] The applicant now asks this court to review the decision by Coroza J.A.

[6] The applicant’s disagreement with his convictions seems largely factual. No error of law on the part of the trial judge is alleged. There is no explanation for the delay between the time of the dismissal of the summary conviction appeals and the motion to this court to extend time.

[7] We agree with the decisions by MacPherson J.A. and Coroza J.A. and see no basis to depart from the decision of Coroza J.A.

[8] The application is dismissed.

“G. Pardu J.A.”

“David Brown J.A.”

“David M. Paciocco J.A.”