Scott K. Fenton

The applicant, sought for extradition by the United States on serious drug trafficking and money laundering charges, applied for a review of a detention order denying him judicial interim release.

The application judge had denied bail primarily on the primary ground, finding a high risk of flight due to the applicant's unexplained wealth and the unreliability of his proposed sureties.

The Court of Appeal found no reviewable error in the application judge's assessment of the evidence, including the applicant's finances, the bail letter, and the proposed sureties.

A motion to adduce fresh evidence of an arthritis diagnosis was also dismissed.

The application for review was dismissed.

The offenders were found guilty of fraud over $5,000 relating to syndicated mortgage loans for two construction projects, resulting in a loss of over $24.4 million to nearly 800 investors.

The court found the magnitude, complexity, and duration of the fraud to be significant aggravating factors, while the offenders' lack of prior records and community support were mitigating.

Emphasizing general deterrence and denunciation for large-scale commercial fraud, the court sentenced each offender to 5 years in penitentiary, a $12.2 million fine in lieu of forfeiture, and a 10-year prohibition order.

The corporate defendant and its supervisor pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death and an OHSA violation, respectively, following a fatal workplace accident where a worker drowned in a flooded underground chamber.

The court accepted a joint submission, imposing a $225,000 fine and $200,000 in restitution on the corporation, and a $50,000 fine on the supervisor.

The court emphasized the principles of denunciation and deterrence, noting the systemic safety failures while acknowledging the defendants' guilty pleas, remorse, and post-offence safety improvements.

The applicant, sought for extradition to the United States on charges related to money laundering for a violent drug trafficking organization, applied for a publication ban on the identities and identifying information of his proposed sureties prior to his bail hearing.

The Attorney General opposed the ban on names, occupations, and relationships to the accused, arguing it infringed the open court principle.

The court applied the Sherman Estate test and found that the applicant established a serious risk to the safety of the sureties and the public interest in ensuring safe participation in the justice system.

The court granted the publication ban, subject to review upon the conclusion of the bail hearing.

The appellant appealed a decision of the Capital Markets Tribunal finding he breached a 15-year trading ban by participating in stock secured financings.

The Tribunal found that the lenders' sales of pledged securities constituted trades, and the appellant's actions, including sourcing financing and analyzing the value of the pledged equities for compensation tied to the sales' profits, were acts in furtherance of those trades.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the Tribunal made no palpable and overriding error in its contextual analysis of the appellant's conduct.

The appellant appealed convictions for failing to comply with an animal welfare order and challenged the dismissal of its Charter stay motion for abuse of process.

The appeal argued that the prosecution became abusive after the Ministry issued a revocation notice, and that the motion judge misinterpreted s. 30(5) of the governing statute and conflated the abuse-of-process inquiry with the stay analysis.

The court held that the offences had crystallized before the revocation, that the statutory scheme did not nullify prior non-compliance, and that the prosecution did not offend societal notions of fair play and decency.

Although the justice of the peace conflated aspects of the abuse and stay analyses, the appeal court found no reversible error and in any event applied the curative proviso under the Provincial Offences Act.

The appeal was dismissed.

This decision concerns the conviction of Jawad Rathore and Vince Petrozza for Fraud Over $5,000 under section 380 of the Criminal Code related to syndicated mortgage loans raised through their organization, Fortress.

The Court found that Rathore and Petrozza intentionally misled investors by misrepresenting the value of the security backing the loans, using inflated and misleading appraisals to calculate loan-to-value ratios, thereby deceiving investors about the actual security of their investments.

The Crown's theory of non-disclosure of upfront fees was rejected, as fees were paid by the borrower and not the lenders, and no obligation to disclose them to investors was found.

The Court emphasized the high standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and relied on documentary evidence to assess credibility and reliability.

The accused were found guilty based on the misrepresentations of value that created a risk of deprivation to investors.

The accused, Graham McLean, was acquitted of sexual assault following a judge-alone trial.

The case turned on whether the complainant, KA, consented to sexual intercourse on July 14, 2016.

The court found Mr. McLean’s evidence credible and reliable, supported by objective evidence such as photographs and weather data.

The complainant’s evidence was found to have inconsistencies and did not align with objective facts, raising reasonable doubt as to her reliability.

The court concluded that the Crown had not proven lack of consent beyond a reasonable doubt and acquitted Mr. McLean.

East West Investment Management Corporation sought an order to pay funds into court or a declaration that its continued management of funds for Thomas Higgins and the TRH Foundation did not contravene the Criminal Code, due to a risk that the funds might constitute proceeds of crime from a German tax fraud scheme involving Maple Bank.

The court, exercising its inherent and supervisory jurisdiction over trusts, granted the order allowing East West to pay CDN$4,398,168 into court, with the consent of the respondents, to mitigate East West's risk of liability under money laundering laws.

The Crown applied for an order to retain seized material for an additional year in a complex criminal investigation involving Fortress Real Capital Inc. and related entities.

The investigation, initiated in 2018, concerned allegations of investor fraud through misrepresentation of property values and investment eligibility.

The court granted the application, finding the investigation to be complex due to the large volume of electronic and hard copy material, the need for professional assistance (computer experts, accountants), and significant delays caused by extensive solicitor-client privilege claims over seized documents.

The court emphasized that while asserting privilege is legitimate, it contributed to the complexity and delay, justifying further detention of the material until June 22, 2021.

The applicants, a media organization and its reporter, sought to revoke or stay the enforcement of a production order compelling them to turn over communications with an alleged ISIS recruiter.

The Supreme Court of Canada had previously upheld the validity of the order.

The applicants argued that recent reports from CENTCOM indicating the target was killed in an airstrike rendered the order moot and its enforcement an abuse of process.

The Superior Court held that the applicants were estopped from relitigating the order's validity.

Furthermore, the court found that because the RCMP had been unable to independently verify the target's death, their decision to continue the investigation and enforce the order was reasonable and did not constitute an abuse of process.

The Crown sought leave to appeal a decision staying regulatory charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act on the basis of unreasonable delay contrary to s. 11(b) of the Charter.

The charges arose from a workplace fatality at a gold mine where a worker was poisoned by cyanide.

The Ontario Court of Justice found that the net delay of 23 months exceeded the presumptive ceiling of 18 months and that the Crown failed to develop and follow a concrete plan to minimize delay.

The Superior Court dismissed the Crown's appeal.

The Crown sought leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal on four grounds relating to the calculation of delay and the application of the Jordan framework.

This ruling addresses the scope of redactions to be applied to public court documents related to a prior non-publication order granted to "Person X." The court balanced the applicant's privacy interests in preventing direct or indirect identification with the public's right to access information, particularly as advocated by media interveners.

The judge approved most of the applicant's proposed redactions but rejected some, allowing general, non-identifying information about Person X's personal circumstances, professional reputation, and the fact of being a target of a Competition Bureau investigation to remain in the public record.

The ruling also vacated a previous sealing order and varied an *in camera* order.

The applicant sought clarification on the form of redacted Information to Obtain (ITO) documents following a non-publication order protecting their identity.

The court ordered that gender-identifying pronouns in specific paragraphs be redacted or replaced with 'it' to ensure consistency and protect the applicant's identity.

The court also rejected a proposed 'Warning' format that would leave identifying information visible but subject to a publication ban, ordering instead that the identifying information be fully redacted from the public versions of the ITOs pursuant to section 487.3 of the Criminal Code.

The applicant, an alleged participant in a price-fixing conspiracy in the fresh commercial bread industry, sought a non-publication order to protect their identity in four Informations to Obtain (ITOs) used to secure search warrants.

The applicant was not a target of the search warrants and had not been charged.

The court applied the Dagenais/Mentuck test and section 487.3 of the Criminal Code, finding that the applicant was an 'innocent person' whose reputation and livelihood would suffer serious and irreversible prejudice if their identity were disclosed.

The court granted the non-publication order in large part, concluding that the salutary effects of protecting the applicant's identity outweighed the deleterious effects on the open court principle, while still allowing public access to the majority of the ITOs.

The appellant, a successful federal election candidate in 2008, was convicted of exceeding his election expense limit, wilfully exceeding his personal contribution limit, and filing a false election campaign return.

He paid $21,000 personally for voter identification and get-out-the-vote services from a contractor, circumventing campaign spending limits, and then conspired to file a false return reporting only $1,575 in expenses.

The trial judge and Summary Conviction Appeal Judge upheld the convictions.

On appeal, the appellant challenged the interpretation of "election expense" under the Canada Elections Act, arguing that the Crown must prove the actual use and commercial value of services purchased.

The Court of Appeal rejected this interpretation, holding that the statutory definition of election expense is clear and unambiguous, and that expenses are measured by the cost incurred, not the value of goods or services consumed.

The court also upheld the application of Criminal Code party liability provisions to Canada Elections Act offences.

Accused charged with trading in securities without registration, issuing securities without filing prospectus, and representing that securities would be listed on exchange with intention of effecting trade.

Accused developed website for company (Asia Global/Asia Power) which stated company would be listed on exchange in future.

Website made clear company was not currently listed and no shares available for purchase.

Unregistered sales representatives defrauded private investors by selling non-existent shares.

Evidence did not establish connection between accused and sales representatives or investors, or that website was created to induce share purchases.

Creation of website not constituting act in furtherance of trade.

Accused not trading in or issuing security and not making representation with intention of effecting trade.

All charges dismissed.

The appellant dentist appealed a decision of the Discipline Committee of the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario, which found he sexually abused a patient and ordered mandatory revocation of his licence, along with a substantial costs award.

The appellant admitted to having sexual intercourse with the complainant but argued she was not his patient at the time.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding the Panel's conclusion that a doctor-patient relationship existed was reasonable and supported by medical records.

The court also upheld the costs award, finding no error in principle despite its unusually high quantum, as it was driven by the appellant's defence strategy.

The appellant appealed the dismissal of an application challenging the Crown's assumption of a private prosecution and subsequent withdrawal of charges against a police officer for alleged assault in custody.

The appellant had commenced a private prosecution against Constable Labreche, and after a prima facie case was found, the Crown intervened to assume carriage.

The appellant challenged this intervention in the Superior Court, alleging breach of Charter rights and bias.

The application was dismissed.

The Crown subsequently withdrew the charge.

The appellant brought a second application asserting constitutional challenges to the legislative regime permitting Crown intervention.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on the basis of issue estoppel, finding that both applications raised identical issues regarding the Crown's decision to take over the prosecution and the appellant's exclusion from it.

The applicants challenged three Part VI authorizations to intercept private communications, arguing a lack of reasonable and probable grounds and investigative necessity.

The court found that the Information to Obtain (ITO) relied almost entirely on unproven tipsters, lacked sufficient detail and corroboration, and contained misleading information regarding applicant travel.

The court also found that investigative necessity was not established as other reasonable investigative methods were not adequately explored.

Consequently, the authorizations were deemed invalid, and the intercepted communications were excluded under s. 24(2) of the Charter.