Quebec (Attorney General) v. Belmoral Mines Ltée, [1989] 1 S.C.R. 422

Belmoral Mines Ltée Appellant

v.

Attorney General of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II for the Province of Quebec Respondent

Indexed as: Quebec (Attorney General) v. Belmoral Mines Ltée

File No.: 20244.

1989: March 16.

Present: Lamer, L'Heureux‑Dubé, Sopinka, Gonthier and Cory JJ.

on appeal from the court of appeal for quebec

Criminal law ‑‑ Trial before a judge and jury ‑‑ Miners killed in a mine accident ‑‑ Manslaughter ‑‑ Error in law in the instructions to the jury.

APPEAL as of right from a judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal, 1986 3733 (QC CA), [1987] R.J.Q. 290, allowing an appeal from a verdict of acquittal and ordering a new trial. Appeal dismissed.

Marcel Cinq‑Mars, Q.C., and Patrick* Healy, for the appellant.

Jean‑Pierre Major, for the respondent.

English version of the judgment of the Court delivered orally by

Lamer J. ‑‑ Justice Sopinka will deliver the judgment of the Court.

Sopinka J. ‑‑ We all substantially agree with the Court of Appeal that the trial judge erred in his instructions in law to the jury and that, considering the nature of the error and the present circumstances, it was proper to order a new trial. Therefore the appeal is dismissed.

Judgment accordingly.

Solicitors for the appellant: Martineau Walker, Montréal.

Solicitors for the respondent: Guy Dupré, Jean‑Pierre Major, Montréal.

• See Erratum, [1989] 1 S.C.R. iv