Supreme Court of Canada

Appeal Heard: December 13, 2019 Judgment Rendered: December 13, 2019 Docket: 38681

Between: Alexandre Collin — Appellant Her Majesty The Queen — Respondent

Official English Translation

Coram: Karakatsanis, Côté, Brown, Rowe and Martin JJ.

Reasons for Judgment: (para. 1) Karakatsanis J. (Côté, Brown, Rowe and Martin JJ. concurring)

Parties

Alexandre Collin — Appellant

v.

Her Majesty The Queen — Respondent

Indexed as: R. v. Collin

2019 SCC 64

File No.: 38681.

2019: December 13.

Present: Karakatsanis, Côté, Brown, Rowe and Martin JJ.

On appeal from the Court of Appeal for Quebec.

Headnote

Criminal law — Dangerous driving causing bodily harm — Causation — Accused acquitted of dangerous driving causing bodily harm but convicted of included offence of dangerous driving — Court of Appeal setting aside acquittal and entering conviction for dangerous driving causing bodily harm — Court of Appeal finding that trial judge erred in law by analyzing causation based on erroneous legal standard and that error had material bearing on acquittal — Conviction for dangerous driving causing bodily harm affirmed.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal (Bélanger, Vauclair and Mainville JJ.A.), 2019 QCCA 887, 442 D.L.R. (4th) 3, [2019] AZ-51598010, [2019] Q.J. No. 4127 (QL), 2019 CarswellQue 12131 (WL Can.), setting aside the acquittal of the accused for dangerous driving causing bodily harm and entering a conviction. Appeal dismissed.

Counsel

Karl-Emmanuel Harrison and Rita Magloé Francis, for the appellant.

Éric Bernier and Ariane Lacasse, for the respondent.

Reasons for Judgment

English version of the judgment of the Court delivered orally by

[1] Karakatsanis J. — We are of the view that the trial judge made an error of law as regards the applicable test in his analysis of causation. We are also satisfied that the findings of fact made by the judge show that the accused's dangerous driving significantly contributed to the bodily harm suffered by the victim. We agree with the Court of Appeal that a conviction must be entered on the count of dangerous driving causing bodily harm. The appeal is therefore dismissed and the judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal is affirmed.

Judgment accordingly.

Solicitor for the appellant: Karl-Emmanuel Harrison, Longueuil.

Solicitor for the respondent: Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions, Saint-Jérôme.