The appellant appealed a decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal which had allowed a Crown appeal from his acquittal for perjury.
The appellant argued that the Crown's appeal did not involve a question of law and that his recantation of false testimony within the same hearing provided a defence.
The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, holding that whether recantation can nullify a completed offence of perjury is a question of law.
The Court further held that once the trial judge found the accused intended to mislead the court and gave false testimony under oath, the offence was complete, and a later recantation could not negate the earlier intention to mislead.
