Robert B. White

The respondent, a physician, was charged with 14 counts of sexual assault against seven female patients.

Prior to trial, a chambers judge ordered the counts severed and divided based on the part of the body involved in the alleged assault.

At trial, the trial judge excluded evidence relating to the severed counts and the testimony of the respondent's ranking medical officer, and subsequently granted a motion for a non-suit.

The Crown appealed.

The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, holding that the pre-trial severance order was subject to review despite the rule against collateral attack, and that it was jurisdictionally and substantively flawed.

The Court also found that the trial judge erred in excluding the evidence and in granting the non-suit by improperly weighing the evidence and applying the wrong standard.

A new trial was ordered.

The Director of Soldier Settlement appealed a decision regarding the ownership of mines and minerals in a parcel of land in Alberta.

The land was originally sold by the Soldier Settlement Board in 1928, with the Soldier Settlement Act reserving mines and minerals to the federal Crown.

However, the transfer was registered under the provincial Land Titles Act without the reservation.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that the mines and minerals were transferred to the Province of Alberta under the 1930 Natural Resources Transfer Agreement.

As a result, the respondent executors, as bona fide purchasers for value, held valid title to the mines and minerals under the provincial Land Titles Act, and the appeal was dismissed.