William R. Wolski

The Crown charged two accused with possession of a handgun found in a vehicle during the Beaches Jazz Festival in Toronto.

A handgun was discovered under the rear driver's side floor mat of a black motor vehicle after police responded to a 911 call reporting suspicious activity.

The Crown argued that circumstantial evidence established that both accused had knowledge and control of the handgun.

The defence contended that two other individuals who were released from investigative detention may have been the only persons with knowledge of the weapon.

The court found that while there was a probability the accused knew of the handgun's existence, the Crown failed to establish knowledge and control beyond a reasonable doubt.

The competing inferences—that either the accused or the two released individuals knew of the handgun—created reasonable doubt.

Both accused were acquitted.

This is a voir dire concerning the competency and qualifications of a Tigrinya language interpreter proffered by the Crown.

The defendant challenged the interpreter's qualifications despite his passing grade on the Ministry of the Attorney General interpretation test, arguing for an inherent error factor of approximately 30%.

The court rejected this argument, finding that mathematical precision is not required in interpretation and that the interpreter met the constitutional standard under the Charter.

The court held that interpretation is an inherently human endeavour that does not require perfection, and that the interpreter was competent to provide services during trial.