Superior Court of Justice - Divisional Court
CITATION: Attorney General of Ontario v. $43,120.00 in Canadian Currency, 2011 ONSC 7606
DIVISIONAL COURT FILE NO.: 340/11
DATE: 20111220
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
DIVISIONAL COURT
JENNINGS, SWINTON AND PENNY JJ.
BETWEEN:
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF ONTARIO
Respondent
– and –
$43,120.00 IN CANADIAN CURRENCY
Appellant
Counsel:
Leslie Zamojc, for the Respondent
Leora R. Shemesh, for the Appellant, Marco Maric
HEARD at Toronto: December 20, 2011
Oral Reasons for Judgment
SWINTON J. (ORALLY)
[1] This is an appeal from the judgment of Hainey J. dated June 3, 2011, in which he found that $43,120.00 in Canadian currency was proceeds of an unlawful activity and/or an instrument of unlawful activity within the meaning of the Civil Remedies Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 28. Therefore, he ordered the funds forfeited to the Crown.
[2] The appellant argues that the application judge improperly shifted the onus of proof to the appellant. We disagree. In our view, the application judge was entitled to consider all the evidence before him in determining whether the Attorney General had proof on a balance of probabilities that the funds were proceeds of an unlawful activity and/or an instrument of unlawful activity.
[3] The appellant has not shown that the application judge made a palpable and overriding error in his assessment of the evidence. The absence of evidence of drug-related crime was of no import. There was adequate evidence on which the application judge could rely to come to his conclusion, including the expert evidence of Detective Constable Hawkes (who was not cross- examined), the NARC test, the drug dog hit on the bundled money, the bundling of the money kept in a storage locker, and the sparse evidence of alternate business income. In effect, the appellant seeks to have this Court review the evidence. That is not our task.
[4] For these reasons, the appeal is dismissed.
JENNINGS J.
COSTS
[5] Costs to the Attorney General fixed at $3,000.00, payable forthwith.
SWINTON J.
JENNINGS J.
PENNY J.
Date of Reasons for Judgment: December 20, 2011
Date of Release: January 26, 2012
CITATION: Attorney General of Ontario v. $43,120.00 in Canadian Currency, 2011 ONSC 7606
DIVISIONAL COURT FILE NO.: 340/11
DATE: 20111220
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
DIVISIONAL COURT
JENNINGS, SWINTON AND PENNY JJ.
BETWEEN:
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF ONTARIO
Respondent
– and –
$43,120.00 IN CANADIAN CURRENCY
Appellant
ORAL REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
SWINTON J.
Date of Reasons for Judgment: December 20, 2011
Date of Release: January 26, 2012