Sophie Nicole Clermont

The accused was charged with care and control while being over 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

The central issue was whether the Crown proved that breath samples were received directly into an approved instrument as required by section 258(1)(c)(iii) of the Criminal Code.

The qualified technician testified that the accused provided breath samples into the instrument, but did not explicitly testify that the samples were received directly into the instrument.

The court found that the evidence was insufficient to establish this critical requirement beyond a reasonable doubt and acquitted the accused, holding that judicial notice cannot be used to supply this proof and that the liberty interest of the accused requires strict interpretation of the statutory requirement.

The accused pleaded guilty to defrauding her employer, TD Canada Trust, of $237,156.44 over a 42-month period while employed as a loans officer.

The Crown sought 18 months imprisonment; the defence sought 6 months.

The court imposed 6 months imprisonment followed by 3 years probation with conditions including 150 hours of community service.

A restitution order was made for the full amount defrauded.

No DNA order was imposed.