RULING ON MOTION FOR DIRECTIONS
Court File No.: CR-21-058
Date: 2025-05-16
Ontario Superior Court of Justice
Between:
His Majesty the King
Jason Miller and Jayme Lesperance, for the Crown
– and –
Matthew McQuarrie
Matthew McQuarrie, self-represented
Anthony Bryant, amicus curiae
Heard: May 27 and 28, 2024
Chozik J.
Introduction
1In 2011, the former Owen Sound Courthouse and Jail was closed. It had housed those accused persons awaiting trial at the courts in Owen Sound and Walkerton, Ontario. Since the closing of that jail, those accused in custody awaiting trial are housed at the Central North Correctional Centre (“CNCC”) in Penetanguishene, Ontario. CNCC is 128 to 156 kilometres from the courthouse in Owen Sound (depending on the route).
2Matthew McQuarrie was one of those accused persons detained at CNCC awaiting trial in Owen Sound. He was charged with first-degree murder in relation to the death of Emerson Sprung, contrary to s. 235(1) of the Criminal Code. He was arrested on May 6, 2020, and held in custody. He elected to be tried by a judge and a jury. In March 2024, he chose to represent himself. He dismissed his lawyer. His trial was estimated to require up to three months to complete. His trial commenced on June 3, 2024, before me and a jury.
3In March, April and May of 2024, I held several case management meetings and heard several pre-trial applications, including this motion for directions in respect of the transportation and housing of Mr. McQuarrie during the trial. Mr. McQuarrie also voiced concerns about his inability to prepare for trial, as his access to disclosure was limited in custody. These challenges bore directly on his right to have a fair trial pursuant to s. 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
4On this motion for directions, I heard the evidence of Jordan Kirchberger, an officer with the OPP Offender Transport Unit (“OTU”), in respect to the transportation of inmates to and from the Owen Sound courthouse and CNCC. I also heard evidence of Paul Richardson, an Inspector with the Grey Bruce Ontario Provincial Police (“OPP”), in respect of other options for housing Mr. McQuarrie in custody closer to the Owen Sound courthouse for the duration of the trial. I also heard evidence from Staff Sergeant Michelle Vaughan at CNCC about the procedures at CNCC in respect of transportation to and from court, as well as inmates’ access to disclosure at the institution. I also received the evidence of Krista Fluney, the Director of Civilian Services at the Owen Sound Police Service, who provides security in the courthouse.
5On May 29, 2024, at the conclusion of the evidence and submissions, I made a detailed order aimed to facilitate Mr. McQuarrie’s access to disclosure and address his housing and transportation. I indicated that the Reasons for my decision would follow.
6Shortly after the jury was selected and the trial started, Mr. McQuarrie re-elected to be tried by judge alone and pled guilty to second-degree murder before Conlan J. on June 12, 2024.
7Although Reasons for my decision on this motion for directions are no longer required, I feel compelled to release these Reasons to shine light on the challenges Mr. McQuarrie faced in respect of his ability to prepare for trial and the intolerable conditions of his daily transportation for what promised to be a long trial. Other in-custody accused may face similar challenges, and the judiciary and the public must, in my view, be aware of these to ensure that access to justice and the right to a fair trial is not eroded.
Evidence Regarding Transportation and Housing
8As I set out above, CNCC is 128 to 156 kilometers from the courthouse in Owen Sound.
9Officer Kirchberger testified that the OTU picks up offenders at various correctional institutions or police units and transports them to and from court. CNCC, the Owen Sound and Walkerton courthouses, all the OPP detachments and municipal police services in the “West Region” are part of the same catchment area. Each day, the OTU runs transportation for individuals who have been arrested and held in local police detachments, to and from court for bail and other appearances. The OTU officers work in 12 hour shifts, in two teams, starting at 5:30 am.
10The OTU’s runs change each day. It could be transporting persons in custody from Hanover, Walkerton, Saugeen Shores to and from court in Owen Sound and Walkerton, and there could be multiple inmates travelling to different places on the same vehicle in any one loop. The OTU provides services for many stakeholders, including ones in Chatsworth, Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, Alliston, Bradford, Barrie and Orillia. The stops required on any one run dictate the length of the drive to and from court for the inmate.
11Officer Kirchberger testified that the OTU runs a transit loop between the various facilities but does not do a “point to point” delivery. He testified that it is a rare occurrence when the OTU travels directly to and from court to CNCC. It depends on the arrests in the region. In the past the unit transported pregnant females by themselves.
12Officer Kirchberger testified that two kinds of vehicles are used by the OTU in the West Region: a “ten pack” which has ten cells or a “six pack” which has six cells. Each is 44” wide, 36” deep and 62” tall. There is a landing step to get up to the sitting area, and a stainless-steel bench. Officer Kirchberger testified that it is routine for more than one person to be in one cell measuring 44” wide x 36” deep. Ordinarily on the “ten pack” there are twenty inmates, and twelve inmates on the “six pack”. There are other vehicles with bigger cells designed to be communal, but his unit uses the “ten pack” and the “six pack”.
13Officer Kirchberger testified that typically a direct drive from the Owen Sound courthouse to CNCC is two hours or longer. However, it is rare for the transport vehicle to take a direct route and the timing is unpredictable. If the last transport vehicle leaves the Owen Sound courthouse at 5:00 pm, but had stops to make in Wasaga Beach or elsewhere, it could be that the inmate would arrive at CNCC as late as 8:00 pm. This was also dependant on the season, as traffic is heavier during the summer. Road construction adds to delays.
14The last transport vehicle of the day also takes longer because it picks up all the inmates from court that did not make the earlier run. To make the earlier run, the inmate in Owen Sound would have to be ready to depart from court by 3:30 pm or earlier, otherwise he would be on the later run. The last transport vehicle makes more stops and likely travels to the furthest locations, so it takes longer.
15The officers also must time the transportation so that they are back in time for the end of their 12-hour shift.
16The earlier shifts start at 5:30 am. The officers have duties before they hit the road, and they arrive at CNCC before 6:00 or 6:30 am. Corrections staff bring inmates to “A&D” (admissions and discharges), and the OTU early crew do the 6:00 am loop. The idea is that those inmates who have the furthest to travel are the first to leave CNCC for court. If court in Owen Sound starts at 9:00 am, the OTU should be leaving CNCC by 7:00 am. Sometimes inmates are not presented on time, so the OTU runs late for court. It is the responsibility of CNCC staff to ensure that inmates are ready for transport on time.
17Officer Kirchberger testified that the OTU transports court documents and disclosure back and forth with the inmate to court. The disclosure and other documents are put in a plastic bag, sealed and transported apart from the inmate. It is loaded onto the transport vehicle at the same time as the inmate, and the transport officers deliver the inmate and the sealed property bag to CNCC, but the inmate has no access to it during the drive.
18Officer Kirchberger testified that direct transportation of an inmate could be arranged with a special detail of officers.
Evidence on Alternate Housing
19Given the circumstances of his transportation, one of the options I asked to hear about was the possibility of housing Mr. McQuarrie closer to the courthouse at least for some portion of the trial.
20Inspector Richardson of the OPP gave evidence that Mr. McQuarrie could not be housed at any of the OPP detachments closer to the Owen Sound courthouse because those detachments were not designed for long-term housing of an incarcerated person.
21He testified that the OPP detachments and provincial correctional facilities like CNCC are operated under the Ministry of the Solicitor General, but that there are specific designations for correctional facilities, remand centres and jails which are defined in legislation. By statute, the ability to hold someone in detention at a lock up facility is limited because the police are required to bring someone before a justice within 24 hours. The detained person must then be returned to a correctional facility.
22The closest OPP detachment to the Owen Sound courthouse is in Chatsworth. Inspector Richardson explained that the lock up facility there has three cells. Two cells are beside each other, whereas a third cell usually reserved for young persons, women, vulnerable arrestees or as an overflow cell, is in a different area. There are no shower facilities for prisoners. There is only a small sink with water and a toilet in the cell. The bed is a concrete bench, which he testified was not humane for a long-term stay. There are no kitchen facilities to prepare meals or feed prisoners. Prisoner meals are frozen, and when necessary, microwaved. Those meals are intended to provide some nutrition for prisoners staying for a short time.
23Inspector Richardson testified that the summertime is the busy season in the area, which results in an increase in population. Frequently, the cells are at capacity and often over capacity.
24Inspector Richardson explained that the cell area at the Chatsworth detachment is directly connected to the sally port. The sally port exits directly to the outside. If the sally port door is breached, then a prisoner can escape.
25According to Inspector Richardson, there are also no visitor facilities, no security in place for visits, no secure place for a prisoner to meet with counsel or to meet with anyone in private, or to review disclosure at all, let alone in private, regardless of whether the disclosure is electronic on a laptop or paper in a box. There are no computers or internet for counsel. There is no way to accommodate any exercise or an outdoor break for a prisoner.
26Inspector Richardson testified that there would be operational concerns if Mr. McQuarrie were to be housed at the Chatsworth OPP detachment. The cells are monitored by civilian guards on contract, who are casual staff. When needed, officers are called in off the road by the civilian staff. If a prisoner detained at one of the detachments has medical needs or a medical emergency, two to three officers would have to be called in to transport the prisoner by ambulance to a hospital.
27If Mr. McQuarrie were to be housed at the detachment, there would need to be additional monitoring, which would impact officer complement. This complement varies between 11 and 17 members in an area that is at least 196 kilometres, from Tobermory to Dundalk and covers seven municipalities and two First Nations communities. He emphasized that the summertime is the busy time in the area.
28According to Inspector Richardson, there are other OPP facilities that are within 30 minutes to 45 minutes of the courthouse in Owen Sound that have different capabilities. Two of those — in Meaford and Markdale — are not used for any lock ups. The detachment in Wiarton is similar to the one in Chatsworth, but has no guards, no kitchen facilities and cannot house anyone either.
29In conclusion, Inspector Richardson was of the view that housing Mr. McQuarrie at the Chatsworth detachment would undermine the OPP’s ability to service its communities. The detachment is “a lock up facility” intended for “short term stays”. It lacks the security inherent to a correctional institution like the CNCC, and officers could not aid and care for a prisoner the way corrections staff can.
Access to Electronic Disclosure
30According to the Crown, as of April 8, 2024, Mr. McQuarrie had none of the disclosure and disclosure drives were being prepared for him. The Crown submitted that these were extremely large disclosure drives, and that it would take Mr. McQuarrie weeks to review the disclosure if he spent multiple hours per day going through it. The Crown made these comments in the course of discussions about whether this trial could proceed as scheduled in June, 2024.
31Mr. McQuarrie, in this context, claimed that he had no issues accessing disclosure. He opposed any adjournment of the trial. At that point, he had been in custody for almost four years awaiting trial. He said he had had almost 40 hours with the disclosure, which was on a thumb drive. It later became apparent that Mr. McQuarrie was probably not accurate about this.
32A memorandum dated May 24, 2024 from Chris Jackel, the Deputy Superintendent Administration-Operations at CNCC revealed that Mr. McQuarrie accessed the disclosure prior to April 8, 2024 only once, on January 12, 2024. He then had access to the disclosure on April 16, 18, 29, 30 and May 13, 14 and 24, 2024. Neither the memorandum nor the evidence of Staff Sergeant Vaughan sets out how long he had to review the disclosure on each occasion. It is also silent on how many access requests were denied or could not be accommodated.
33In addition to accessing disclosure prior to the trial, Mr. McQuarrie raised concerns about accessing witness statements and other disclosure during the trial. As a self-represented litigant, he would need access to these materials before, during, and after court each day to conduct the trial.
34Michelle Vaughan, a Staff Sergeant at CNCC testified about the process in place at CNCC when Mr. McQuarrie comes and goes to court in Owen Sound, as well as his access disclosure. Her general duties included overseeing the security department, including the security of equipment and disclosure that comes into the facility.
35Staff Sergeant Vaughan testified that CNCC is designated as a correctional institute and that it has just under 1300 inmates. It has two laptops available for inmates to review electronic disclosure, though one of these laptops had not been operational for some time.
36Despite this, Staff Sergeant Vaughan maintained that Mr. McQuarrie’s access to electronic disclosure while in custody could be facilitated.
37Staff Sergeant Vaughan explained that an inmate’s classification level determines where in the institution he is housed. Each unit has six wings. Each wing has the capacity to house 32 inmates. Though the capacity is 32, the institution had been triple bunking inmates. Mr. McQuarrie was housed in unit 1A, where he was not in isolation but on a range. He has access to shower facilities. There is a kitchen and staff at the institution, so inmates have cold and hot meals. The staff bring food to the unit, and the inmates divide up the meals. Mr. McQuarrie was a trusted inmate who delivered the meals to the others on his unit.
381A is an open living unit, where inmates can walk around in the day room and have access once a day to the yard for recreation. However, this is theoretical since during lockdowns this does not happen. According to Staff Sergeant Vaughan there were lockdowns at least twice a week.
39Staff Sergeant Vaughan testified that she is responsible for securing disclosure and giving inmates access to a computer to access electronic disclosure. There is a special room for this. There are also rooms at CNCC for inmates to meet with counsel in private.
40Staff Sergeant Vaughan explained that on the days Mr. McQuarrie attends court, he is woken up at 6:00 am. While in his cell, he is allowed to wash up, use the washroom, and then escorted to A&D. A&D is in a separate area of the facility. He waits there until it is his turn to put on his street clothes. He is then given breakfast and placed back in a cell at A&D until the transport to court is ready.
41Despite this process, on the morning she testified Mr. McQuarrie left CNCC late, at 8:00 am. She could not explain why. She testified that the departure times for transportation are fixed, but if CNCC is short staffed, the transport unit would be left waiting.
42Given this process, Staff Sergeant Vaughan confirmed that there is no opportunity for Mr. McQuarrie to review disclosure or prepare for court in the mornings.
43Upon his return to CNCC after court, an inmate goes into a cell until a strip bay is available for him to change back into institutional clothing. (Mr. McQuarrie said that he is strip searched going in and out of A&D). He is then taken to A&D, then escorted back to his unit when someone is available. There are many different inmates arriving from different jurisdictions, and they are processed in no particular preference. Staff Sergeant Vaughan testified that Mr. McQuarrie would not have any opportunity to review his disclosure in the evenings, upon his return to CNCC from court.
44If Mr. McQuarrie arrives back to CNCC by 6:30 p.m., he is usually fed. Inmates are usually fed between 4:30-4:45 pm, but for those returning from court food is kept on a warming device. The units lock up between 6-7 pm, so an inmate returning from court after that time could only have access to showers depending on staffing levels. Lights are out between 8 and 9 pm, but there is a night light in the cell for staff to see the inmates. Theoretically, this night light could be used by an inmate to read.
45Staff Sergeant Vaughan testified that the disclosure provided to an inmate at CNCC cannot leave CNCC. When it is received, it goes through security, is recorded and logged by staff in a secure place. Inmates are allowed to bring “court papers” to and from court, but not actual disclosure — it is kept at CNCC. When an inmate requests to see it, he must do so in the special room. He cannot have it in his cell. It is signed out to him and then must be returned and signed back in.
46Thus, Mr. McQuarrie could not review disclosure during the trial while in his cell on the open living unit or while in transit to and from court, or while waiting at A&D.
47Staff Sergeant Vaughan could not answer whether Mr. McQuarrie had ever been denied access to disclosure. She gave evidence that he had accessed it on January 12, 2024; April 16, 18, 29, and 30, 2024; and May 13, 14, and 24, 2024. She could not tell how many requests to access disclosure could not be accommodated. There may have been any number, but she did not know.
48Staff Sergeant Vaughan testified that special arrangements would have to be made to ensure that Mr. McQuarrie could access his disclosure during the trial. He could be put into segregation where he could have access to a laptop and other disclosure in his cell, and where it would be easier for him to have access to a shower after court. Depending on the reason, and with special effort, she could arrange for Mr. McQuarrie to access disclosure before the trial. For example, despite very little staffing and the facility being locked down the day before, she was able to arrange for him to access disclosure.
49The day after Staff Sergeant Vaughan testified, Mr. McQuarrie advised that he had been subjected to bad treatment at A&D. He advised that the correctional officers “threw” him in a cell, took his notes and the disclosure package I ordered to be provided to him in court for his review overnight. Over his objections, a correctional officer read through the disclosure and his notes despite Mr. McQuarrie’s objections that it was confidential. Mr. McQuarrie advised the court that the correctional officers asked him whether we in court were “drunk” and told Mr. McQuarrie that Staff Sergeant Vaughan’s word did not depict what they can do or what happens at CNCC. Mr. McQuarrie indicated to the court that the correctional officers were clearly “mad” at him because of the testimony given in court the day before and that they deliberately took it out on him.
Findings and Analysis
50No judicial participant including Mr. McQuarrie should be subjected to a commute of at least four hours per day but likely longer, exclusive of waiting times in the morning or afternoon, day after day for a hearing that may last as long as six to ten weeks or longer. No judicial participant should be subjected to this commute while seated on a metal bench in a cage measuring 44” inches wide with another person. No judge or lawyer or any person could tolerate such conditions, and function well when called upon to do so in the courtroom.
51I found that for an accused person like Mr. McQuarrie this commute jeopardized his ability to participate in his trial as guaranteed under s. 7 of the Charter. In Mr. McQuarrie’s case, because he already suffered from severe challenges in maintaining composure and focus during proceedings, the circumstances of his daily commute promised to cause grave difficulties. In court, he was often stressed, volatile and disruptive. This commute would impact him profoundly and risk the fairness of the trial.
52As a result, despite Inspector Richardson’s evidence that the Chatsworth OPP detachment could not reasonably be expected to house Mr. McQuarrie during the trial, I was prepared to order that the OPP adjust at the detachment to house Mr. McQuarrie during the trial. In my view, this was a better option for a self-represented litigant like Mr. McQuarrie facing a long trial and an impossibly treacherous daily commute to and from court day in and day out.
53However, having heard Inspector Richardson’s evidence, Mr. McQuarrie submitted that he would rather stay at CNCC during the trial because it was obvious that the OPP did not want him to stay at the Chatsworth detachment. He feared that his situation would become even more difficult as a result. He was very troubled by the prospect of not being able to shower, review disclosure or prepare for trial, or have phone calls with family.
54Being stuck between a rock and a hard place, I decided that Mr. McQuarrie could not be housed anywhere other than CNCC. There are simply no other viable options.
55In the end, I ordered that Mr. McQuarrie be transported directly at the end of each court day to and from court to CNCC for the duration of the trial. This was the best I could do to ameliorate what I think are inhumane conditions he would have been subjected to during daily transport day in and day out given the length of the trial. This order was necessary to ensure the possibility of a fair trial.
56The trial had to be fair. Mr. McQuarrie was charged with, and ultimately pled guilty to, a horrific offence. He was accused of, and ultimately pled guilty, to killing 21-year-old Emerson Sprung at Memorial Park in Meaford Ontario. He admitted that he stabbed Mr. Sprung 12 times in the head, neck and torso, causing his death. Evidence I heard at the beginning of the aborted trial suggested that the killing was so brutal that days later tufts of Mr. Sprung’s hair, teeth, and blood, were found around the bench where the murder happened. After killing Mr. Sprung, Mr. McQuarrie transported his body to a different location in Lakeview Cemetery (adjacent to Memorial Park), wrapped it in a tarp, and buried his body in a shallow grave.
57The murder of Mr. Sprung had tremendous impact on his family, including his mother Tracy Sprung and his brother, whose evidence I heard at the trial. The trial had to be fair to ensure that Mr. McQuarrie’s rights were respected but also to ensure justice was done for the deceased, his family and the community. Subjecting an accused person to the kind of commute I heard about while representing himself at a long trial could have rendered the trial fundamentally unfair.
58In my view, the notion that an incarcerated accused like Mr. McQuarrie could review disclosure and prepare for trial while in custody is a myth. With 1300 inmates, some serving sentences but many waiting trial, and one working laptop available, it is not hard to conclude that access to disclosure is very limited. At any given time, there could be multiple inmates at CNCC who are representing themselves.
59Almost all disclosure today is electronic. In serious cases, like this one, disclosure contains thousands of documents including text messages, various reports, witness statements, police officer notes and videos. Many of these are voluminous and can only be accessed electronically. Such disclosure takes hours to review. As the Crown said, it would take Mr. McQuarrie weeks to go through it once, if he had access to it for several hours each day.
60The evidence revealed that the reality at CNCC is that access to disclosure is very restricted. When paper or electronic disclosure is sent to CNCC, it is carefully documented, logged, and secured by the staff. The inmate for whom that disclosure is intended has no access, unless his request to access it can be accommodated by staff. Frequent lockdowns and notorious staffing shortages impact access to disclosure even further.
61More importantly, during the trial, a self-represented accused like Mr. McQuarrie could not access to the disclosure to prepare each day.
62Because the charge Mr. McQuarrie faced trial for is most serious, I was compelled to take exceptional measures to try to facilitate Mr. McQuarrie’s preparation for trial. I emphasize that the order I made was exceptional, and not a substitute for proper access to disclosure in the usual course. The court cannot be expected to take such steps as a matter of course.
63To enable Mr. McQuarrie to review his disclosure and prepare for trial, arrangements were made whereby he would have access to electronic disclosure in the courtroom on a laptop supplied by Court Services. Legal Aid Ontario agreed to purchase an additional laptop to be used by Mr. McQuarrie exclusively at CNCC securely and returned to Legal Aid Ontario at the conclusion of the case. Mr. McQuarrie was placed into segregation for the duration of the trial, where he could have the laptop in his possession in his cell in private. The Legal Aid Ontario laptop was not transported to and from CNCC, but rather remained in Mr. McQuarrie’s personal possession in his cell at CNCC — this avoided the daily search of the laptop and risks associated with its loss or damage and other security concerns. The Crown and the police worked diligently to install the required software and disclosure onto both computers, and to ensure that they were working correctly, and ensured that Mr. McQuarrie knew how to access it.
64A paper copy of the voluminous disclosure was prepared and organized into labelled folders and bankers’ boxes by the police and the Crown. This was provided to Mr. McQuarrie at the courthouse and remained there with the laptop supplied by Court Services. During the trial, he had easy access to these materials in the prisoner’s box. Times were set aside for him to spend in a secure cell at the courthouse with the laptop and the bankers’ boxes of disclosure to prepare for trial, meet with amicus and to prepare for the trial.
65These extraordinary arrangements were necessary to try to give Mr. McQuarrie a shot at having some semblance of a fair trial. However, these were exceptional steps for an unacceptable situation that sadly seems to have become the norm for self-represented in custody accused. I must emphasize that the order I made is not an order this court should or could be expected to make as a matter of course.
The Order Made
66Given the evidence I heard, I made the following Order:
TO ENSURE that Matthew McQuarrie’s right to have a fair trial and make full answer and defence as guaranteed by s. 7 of the Charter is met:
THIS COURT ORDERS THAT:
A laptop shall be purchased forthwith for use by the accused prior to and during the trial. This laptop shall remain in the accused’s property on the range where he is housed in custody at the Central North Correctional Centre (“CNCC”) for him to access and review disclosure and prepare for trial. The expense for the laptop and any required software required to operate it in the ordinary and usual way shall be charged to and paid as a disbursement to amicus by Legal Aid Ontario.
The Crown shall forthwith ensure that the WIFI drive on the laptop is disabled, and that all of the disclosure on the laptop can be accessed. The Crown shall arrange for the laptop to be delivered to the accused at CNCC forthwith.
At the conclusion of the proceedings, which include the trial and all appeals, the laptop purchased for the accused by Legal Aid Ontario shall be wiped clean and returned to Legal Aid Ontario to be donated for use by other self-represented accused, disposed of or dealt with as Legal Aid Ontario sees fit.
A hard drive shall be purchased forthwith, and all of the disclosure shall be downloaded to this hard drive by the Crown.
The hard drive and all the disclosure on it shall be for the accused’s use during these proceedings with the laptop to be provided by Court Operations (“the second laptop” or “jury laptop”). The second laptop and hard drive shall remain in the courthouse. The accused shall be permitted to access the second laptop and hard drive during the hours of 9:00 am to 6:00 pm at the courthouse or as otherwise directed by the court.
CNCC shall permit the accused to keep his notes, paper versions of disclosure and other paper documents provided to him in court and transported from court to CNCC in his cell. These papers shall be transported to and from court as his personal belongings. These papers shall be placed in a sealed envelope by court security officers and marked as “private/confidential and privileged” for transport to and from CNCC. The envelope may be inspected for security purposes, but the documents shall not be read. These papers shall not be locked away or logged as disclosure by CNCC.
The accused shall be brought from CNCC to the Superior Court of Justice (“the courthouse”) in Owen Sound for 9:00 am each morning of these proceedings unless otherwise directed by the court.
The accused shall remain at the courthouse in Owen Sound between the hours of 9:00 am and 6:00 pm unless otherwise directed by the court.
During these proceedings, the Ontario Provincial Police (“OPP”) through its Offender Transport Unit or otherwise shall transport the accused to and from CNCC, and to and from the Superior Court of Justice in Owen Sound directly each day.
The OPP shall provide single prisoner transportation for the accused from the Superior Court of Justice in Owen Sound to CNCC each day unless otherwise directed by the court.
Subject to security concerns to be assessed daily, while at the courthouse, the accused shall be provided with an opportunity to review his paper materials and disclosure, any documents provided to him by the court and access the second laptop and hard drive containing the disclosure in the holding cells and the courtroom before, during and after court, and during court breaks between the hours of 9:00 am and 6:00 pm or as otherwise directed by the court.
The court shall be notified forthwith of any security concerns in respect of the accused each day when he arrives or as they arise.
Subject to security concerns to be assessed daily, the accused shall be permitted to meet with amicus, Anthony Bryant, and counsel appointed pursuant to s. 486.3 of the Criminal Code, Stephanie Marcade, in the holding cells and the courtroom at his request.
Prior to the jury selection, the Crown shall produce an organized set of paper copies of all witness statements, police officer notes, transcripts, photos, and exhibits to be used at trial, in labelled paper folders, contained in a banker’s box(es). These materials shall be provided to the accused in the courtroom. Subject to para. 6 of this order, these materials are for the accused’s use in the courthouse during the proceedings.
The second laptop, hard drive, all court materials provided to the accused, the Criminal Code provided to the accused, and the paper file described in para. 14 of this order shall be stored securely during the proceedings at the courthouse or in the courtroom once it is sealed.
Amicus shall assist the accused with organizing his courtroom paper documents with folders, elastics etc. as necessary and assist the accused with keeping those paper materials organized during the proceedings.
CNCC shall permit the accused to shower at CNCC at the end of each court day, regardless of operational demands or institutional lockdowns.
CNCC shall permit the accused to review his disclosure on his laptop using the hard drives and USB sticks stored at CNCC from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm daily when he is not in court, and as he otherwise requests.
A copy of this Order shall be provided by the registrar to Director Krista Fluney, the Director of Civilian Services overseeing Court Security at the Owen Sound courthouse.
The Crown shall forthwith provide a copy of this Order to Inspector Paul Richardson of the Ontario Provincial Police and to the senior officer overseeing the Offender Transport Unit of the Ontario Provincial Police in this jurisdiction.
The Crown shall forthwith provide a copy of this Order to the Superintendent of the Central North Correctional Centre.
The accused shall be permitted to carry a copy of this order on his person each day when he is transported to and from court for these proceedings.
In future, the Crown, OPP, Director Fluney or her designate, and CNCC shall proactively consult as to, and implement, any additional accommodations that may be necessary to facilitate and ensure that the trial is able to proceed without delay and without the necessity of further court orders.
67In my view, this order was necessary to afford Mr. McQuarrie an opportunity to make full answer and defence and to give effect to his constitutional right to a fair trial, and society’s expectation that justice be done.
Chozik J.
Released: May 16, 2025