Court File and Parties
CITATION: Baxter v. Ontario (Criminal Injuries Compensation Board), 2012 ONSC 6102
DIVISIONAL COURT FILE NO.: 082/12
DATE: 20121025
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
DIVISIONAL COURT
ASTON, LAX and SWINTON JJ.
B E T W E E N :
SHAWN BAXTER Appellant
– and –
CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION BOARD Respondent
Emily Hill for the Appellant
David Fine for the Respondent
HEARD at Toronto: October 25, 2012
Reasons for Judgment
SWINTON J. (ORALLY):
[1] Subsection 17(1) of the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.24 (“the Act”) confers a broad discretion on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board in awarding compensation. The Board here concluded that the motive for the assault was directly related to the appellant’s activities as a drug trafficker, that his injury was a foreseeable consequence of that activity, and that the severity of the injury was not so disproportionate to his conduct as to warrant some compensation.
[2] The appellant argues that the Board failed to identify a specific act by the appellant that contributed to his injuries and did not consider causation. As well, it relied on hearsay evidence that was inherently unreliable.
[3] An appeal lies to this Court only on a question of law pursuant to s.23 of the Act. The parties agree that the standard of review is correctness.
[4] In our view, the Board did not err in law. It considered the applicable principles, including proportionality, and applied those principles to the evidence before it.
[5] The Board was entitled to admit hearsay, given s.15 of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.22. Once that evidence was admitted, the weight to be attached was for the Board to determine.
[6] There is no reason for this Court to interfere with the Board’s decision. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed.
Aston J.:
[7] The appeal is dismissed for oral reasons delivered by Justice Swinton on behalf of the panel.
SWINTON J.
ASTON J.
LAX J.
DATE OF REASONS FOR JUDGMENT: October 25, 2012
DATE OF RELEASE: November 7, 2012
CITATION: Baxter v. Ontario (Criminal Injuries Compensation Board), 2012 ONSC 6102
DIVISIONAL COURT FILE NO.: 082/12
DATE: 20121025
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
DIVISIONAL COURT
ASTON, LAX and SWINTON JJ.
B E T W E E N :
SHAWN BAXTER Appellant
– and –
CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION BOARD Respondent
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
SWINTON J.
DATE OF REASONS FOR JUDGMENT: October 25, 2012
DATE OF RELEASE: November 7, 2012