Decisions

Subscribe to the RSS Feed for Ontario Court of Justice Decisions

• New Decisions : Ontario Court of Justice

Ontario Court of Justice Recent Decisions

• 2026-03-12 R. v. Szakiel, 2026 ONCJ 135 (CanLII)
  Key Words: Procedure — Directed verdict — Criminal trial — Whether there is a basis in the evidence upon which a reasonable jury, properly instructed, could convict — Test from R. v. Kelly, with R. v. Arcuri and R. v. Jackson, applied — Evidence viewed in the reasonable light most favourable to the Crown — Directed verdict refused<br />Criminal and statutory offences — Failure to comply — Release order — Must the Crown negate exceptions contained in a “house arrest” condition — Exception not an essential element but a potential defence — R. v. Blaker followed, R. v. Robinson distinguished on particularised pleading — Information not sufficiently detailed to require negating exceptions — Guilty verdict<br />Criminal and statutory offences — Defences — Lawful excuse — Whether evidence establishes an air of reality to travelling to or from work — R. v. Zora and R. v. Refaeh on persuasive burden — R. v. Nadeau against speculation — Accused found alone downtown at 4:30 a.m., no evidence of employment or travel — Guilty verdict
• 2026-03-09 R. v. Singh, 2026 ONCJ 124 (CanLII)
  Key Words: Procedure — Summary dismissal — Criminal Rules of the Ontario Court of Justice, r. 3.1(1) — Whether a late Charter application may be dismissed without a hearing on the merits — Non-compliance threatens trial fairness and court scheduling — Jordan and Cody on culture of complacency — Tash and Kazman emphasising enforcement of deadlines — Charter ss. 10(b) and 24(2) application not reached — Application summarily dismissed<br />Procedure — Adjournments — Trial management — Whether an adjournment should be granted instead of summary dismissal — Additional witnesses and late disclosure request would cause further delay — Community interest in the efficient and expeditious resolution of criminal cases — Limited court resources and impact on other defendants noted — s. 11(b) delay attribution to Defence acknowledged — Adjournment refused
• 2026-03-05 R. v. Palacios, 2026 ONCJ 118 (CanLII)
  Key Words: Criminal and statutory offences — Sentencing — Historical sexual offences against a child — Proportionality under s. 718.1 — Application of Friesen on gravity and harm to children — Did denunciation and deterrence require a penitentiary term? — Abuse of trust, grooming, escalating sexual violence, life‑shattering impact — Global sentence of five years imposed<br />Criminal and statutory offences — Conditional sentence — Community‑based sentences — Is a conditional sentence under s. 742.1 available or appropriate? — Sentence exceeds two years, objectives of denunciation and deterrence paramount — Consideration of rehabilitation and restraint insufficient to displace incarceration — Conditional sentence unavailable and declined<br />Criminal and statutory offences — Consecutive sentences — Totality — Whether consecutive terms should be ordered subject to totality — Distinct episodes and increasing seriousness justify consecutive sentences — Totality principle applied to ensure sentence not unduly harsh — Consecutive terms structured with totality respected<br />Criminal and statutory offences — Ancillary orders — SOIRA, DNA, weapons, non‑communication — Should lifetime SOIRA, DNA sampling, weapons prohibition and non‑communication be imposed? — Orders under ss. 490.012(1), 490.012(3)(a), 487.051, 109, 743.21 granted — VFS waived — Ancillary orders imposed<br />Criminal and statutory offences — Sentencing principles — Aggravating and mitigating factors — Recognition of harm, abuse of position of trust under s. 718.2 — Consideration of prior counselling, remorse, low risk — Contemporary principles applied per Sheppard and Parranto — Custodial sentence emphasising denunciation and deterrence — Global sentence of five years imposed
• 2026-03-05 R. v. MacChesney, 2026 ONCJ 121 (CanLII)
  Key Words: Criminal and statutory offences — Sentencing — Discharge — Whether a discharge under s. 730 of the Criminal Code is contrary to the public interest in intimate partner violence — Denunciation and deterrence predominant yet discharge available in exceptional cases — Unusual mitigating factors found — Discharged upon completing probation ordered — Conditional discharge with probation ordered<br />Criminal and statutory offences — Sentencing — Mitigating factors — To what extent service-related concussions and PTSD lessen moral responsibility — Documented concussions and mTBI, psychotherapy, military service and deployments considered — Moral responsibility lessened due to effects of combat and brain injuries — Reduced blameworthiness recognised<br />Criminal and statutory offences — Sentencing — Collateral consequences — Whether significant collateral consequences of conviction should affect sentence, relying on R. v. Morgan 2020 ONCA 279 — Risk of compulsory release from Canadian Forces and loss of reintegration supports found — Public interest in supported transition noted — Collateral consequences weighed<br />Criminal and statutory offences — Ancillary orders — DNA order — Whether a DNA order should issue for secondary designated offences under the National DNA Identification Act — Assaults designated as secondary offences — Best interests of the administration of justice considered — DNA sample to National databank ordered — DNA order made
• 2026-03-04 R. v. Vanderburg, 2026 ONCJ 112 (CanLII)
  Key Words: Evidence — Credibility and assessment — W.(D.) framework — Application of R. v. W.D. to competing accounts — Do the accused’s denials or inconsistencies leave a reasonable doubt? — Weight of complainant’s recordings as near‑contemporaneous documentation — Police observations and mugshot undermining accused’s version — Accused’s testimony incompatible with objective evidence — Accused evidence rejected<br />Criminal and statutory offences — Assault and related offences — Criminal Code, ss. 266, 267(c), 264.1(1)(a) — Do the videos and police evidence prove counts one to six beyond a reasonable doubt? — Complainant’s core narrative consistent and corroborated — Accused’s blanket denials disbelieved — Pattern of assaults and threats established — Convictions entered on counts one to six<br />Criminal and statutory offences — Defences — Self‑defence — Whether the accused’s claim of self‑defence raises a reasonable doubt on the September 29 incident — Videos depicting coercion and control, not de‑escalation — Lack of injuries observed by police contradicting claimed black eye — Verbal behaviour inconsistent with defensive posture — Self‑defence rejected<br />Criminal and statutory offences — Trial management — Sufficiency of evidence on single count — Whether the November 6, 2023 assault charge should be dismissed for no evidence — Crown acknowledging no evidence tendered on that date — Court dismissing the count accordingly — Charge dismissed for no evidence