Court File and Parties

Court File No.: CR-24-00000006-0000 Date: September 11, 2025 Ontario Superior Court of Justice

Between: His Majesty the King -and- Tafari Burton

Counsel: Michael Passeri, for the Crown respondent Paul Aubin, for Tafari Burton applicant

Before: D.E. Harris J.

Addendum

[1] A Garofoli ruling, dismissing the application, was released to both parties on August 19, 2025: R v. Tafari Burton, 2025 ONSC 4682.

[2] The Garofoli application in this matter was one in which the Crown relied upon step 6 as outlined in that judgment from the Supreme Court. The Information to Obtain (ITO) the search warrant was to a large extent reliant upon evidence provided by a confidential informant (CI). This led to the ITO being heavily redacted to protect informer privilege. Fact summaries were prepared by the Crown to convey in a meaningful way the nature of the redacted material.

[3] The Garofoli ruling was initially sent only to the Crown. The purpose behind this unusual procedure was to ensure that nothing that could reveal the identity of the CI was inadvertently divulged. There was a good deal of back and forth during the hearing but in these types of hearings, it is difficult to cover and absorb everything that should be redacted. Extra caution was prudent.

[4] Upon receiving the unredacted ruling, Mr. Passeri acting for the Crown requested one redaction: sentence five in paragraph 13. That sentence was then redacted and the redacted judgment was released to defence counsel and the trial office. To preserve the record, the unredacted paragraph will be printed, marked as an exhibit, and sealed in an envelope. The pertinent emails will be printed and will also be marked as exhibits.

D.E. Harris J.

Released: September 11, 2025