Pierre Lapointe

The applicant, Awso Peshdary, facing terrorism charges, brought applications under s. 7 of the Charter and s. 38.14 of the Canada Evidence Act, seeking a stay of proceedings or exclusion of evidence due to the destruction of notes by a key Crown witness (A.M.), a former CSIS human source.

As part of these applications, Peshdary sought disclosure of various CSIS documents, including policies on human source handling, drafts of an affidavit from a CSIS employee ('John'), and materials related to A.M.'s handler.

The court granted disclosure for CSIS policies related to human source safety and note-taking, finding them relevant to the Charter application concerning the right to make full answer and defence.

However, it denied disclosure for draft affidavits and handler-related materials, citing litigation privilege and lack of likely relevance, or prior Federal Court rulings on privilege.

The applicant sought an order to excise information obtained through a Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Act authorization, which was subsequently used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to secure a Criminal Code authorization for intercepting private communications.

The applicant alleged infringements of Charter s. 8 rights and the right to full answer and defence.

The court determined that the CSIS Act warrant met the minimum criteria for a lawful search, and the information derived from it did not violate s. 8.

Furthermore, the applicant's right to full answer and defence was not denied, as substantial disclosure of source documents related to the CSIS Act warrant had been obtained through prior third-party records applications.

Consequently, the application to excise the information was denied.

The applicant, charged with trafficking in heroin, brought a pre-trial motion seeking a declaration that sections 185 and 186 of the Criminal Code are unconstitutional.

The applicant argued that the 'may assist' standard for targeting an individual's private communications for interception violates section 8 of the Charter, which requires a reasonable and probable cause standard.

The court dismissed the application, finding it was bound by Ontario Court of Appeal jurisprudence that upheld the constitutional validity of the Part VI wiretap regime and the 'may assist' criteria.