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Case information

Conduct a refined search of the Supreme Court of Canada database to obtain details on the status of a matter before the Court.


38866

Minassian Family v. Postmedia Network Inc., et al.

(Ontario) (Civil) (By Leave)

(Publication ban in case) (Sealing order) (Certain information not available to the public)

Docket

Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.

List of proceedings
Date Proceeding Filed By
(if applicable)
2021-08-05 Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties
2021-08-05 Judgment on leave sent to the parties
2021-08-05 Close file on Leave
2021-08-05 Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The ancillary motions are dismissed. The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Number CR-18-40000612-0000, 2019 ONSC 4455, dated August 16, 2019, is dismissed.
Dismissed
2021-08-05 Decision on motion to extend time, see decision on application
Dismissed
2021-08-05 Decision on the miscellaneous motion, see decision on application
Dismissed
2020-03-16 All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court
2020-03-16 Submission of miscellaneous motion, for consideration by the Court
2020-03-16 Submission of miscellaneous motion, for consideration by the Court
2020-03-16 Submission of motion to extend time, for consideration by the Court
2020-02-26 Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B Minassian Family
2020-02-26 Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A Minassian Family
2020-02-26 Notice of miscellaneous motion, (Book Form), Missing: Filing Fee (rec`03/13/20), Completed on: 2020-03-17 Minassian Family
2020-02-24 Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) Her Majesty the Queen
2020-02-24 Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A Her Majesty the Queen
2020-01-02 Notice of miscellaneous motion, (Letter Form), Motion to file a sur-reply.
Missing: 4 copies, Form 23B, Filing Fee (ALL rec' 02/25/20), Completed on: 2020-02-25
Her Majesty the Queen
2019-12-27 Motion to extend time, (Book Form), Missing: 4 copies (rec`03/13/20), Filing Fee (rec' 03/13/20), Completed on: 2020-03-17 Minassian Family
2019-12-20 Other memorandum of argument on application for leave, (Letter Form), Sur-Reply
Missing: Motion to file and serve a sur-reply (rec' 02/26/20)
Minassian Family
2019-12-18 Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B Minassian Family
2019-12-18 Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A Minassian Family
2019-12-18 Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Book Form), Amended Reply received on December 27, 2019.
Missing: Motion for extension of time (rec' 12/27/19), Completed on: 2020-02-19, (Printed version filed on 2019-12-18)
Minassian Family
2019-12-17 Other memorandum of argument on application for leave, (Letter Form), Sur-Reply
Missing: Motion to file and serve a sur-reply (rec' 01/02/20)
Her Majesty the Queen
2019-12-05 Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Letter Form), Respondent will not be submitting a response.
Missing: Proof of service (rec' 03/17/20), Completed on: 2020-03-17
Alek Minassian
2019-12-04 Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Letter Form), Respondent will not be submitting a response.
, Completed on: 2019-12-04
Postmedia Network Inc.
2019-12-04 Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B Minassian Family
2019-12-04 Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A Her Majesty the Queen
2019-12-04 Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2019-12-04 Her Majesty the Queen
2019-11-18 Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Redacted reasons for decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice Minassian Family
2019-11-05 Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED 11/05/19
2019-10-15 Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B - SEALED, RESTRICTED (Redacted copy filed 10/15/19) Minassian Family
2019-10-15 Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A - SEALED, RESTRICTED (Redacted copy filed 10/15/19) Minassian Family
2019-10-15 Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), SEALED, RESTRICTED (Redacted copy filed 10/15/19)
Missing: Filing Fee-rec'd 2019/11/19, Completed on: 2019-11-19
Minassian Family

Parties

Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.

Main parties

Main parties - Appellants
Name Role Status
Minassian Family Applicant Active

v.

Main parties - Respondents
Name Role Status
Postmedia Network Inc. Respondent Active
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Respondent Active
Toronto Star Newspapers Limited Respondent Active
Corus Entertainment Inc. Respondent Active
CTV News a Division of Bell Media Inc. Respondent Active
The Globe and Mail Inc. Respondent Active
The Canadian Press Entreprises Inc. Respondent Active
Her Majesty the Queen Respondent Active
Minassian, Alek Respondent Active

Counsel

Party: Minassian Family

Counsel
Name
Leo Adler
Contact information
Leo Adler Law
5000 Yonge Street
Suite 1708
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 7E9
Telephone: (416) 365-1773
FAX: (416) 365-0866
Email: adler@leoadlerlaw.com

Party: Postmedia Network Inc.

Counsel
Name
Brendan Hughes
Contact information
O'Donnell, Robertson & Partners
36 King Street East, Suite 800
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 1E5
Telephone: (416) 216-0248
FAX: (416) 214-0605
Email: BHughes@orplawyers.com

Party: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Counsel
Name
Brendan Hughes
Contact information
O'Donnell, Robertson & Partners
36 King Street East, Suite 800
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 1E5
Telephone: (416) 216-0248
FAX: (416) 214-0605
Email: BHughes@orplawyers.com

Party: Toronto Star Newspapers Limited

Counsel
Name
Brendan Hughes
Contact information
O'Donnell, Robertson & Partners
36 King Street East, Suite 800
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 1E5
Telephone: (416) 216-0248
FAX: (416) 214-0605
Email: BHughes@orplawyers.com

Party: Corus Entertainment Inc.

Counsel
Name
Brendan Hughes
Contact information
O'Donnell, Robertson & Partners
36 King Street East, Suite 800
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 1E5
Telephone: (416) 216-0248
FAX: (416) 214-0605
Email: BHughes@orplawyers.com

Party: CTV News a Division of Bell Media Inc.

Counsel
Name
Brendan Hughes
Contact information
O'Donnell, Robertson & Partners
36 King Street East, Suite 800
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 1E5
Telephone: (416) 216-0248
FAX: (416) 214-0605
Email: BHughes@orplawyers.com

Party: The Globe and Mail Inc.

Counsel
Name
Brendan Hughes
Contact information
O'Donnell, Robertson & Partners
36 King Street East, Suite 800
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 1E5
Telephone: (416) 216-0248
FAX: (416) 214-0605
Email: BHughes@orplawyers.com

Party: The Canadian Press Entreprises Inc.

Counsel
Name
Brendan Hughes
Contact information
O'Donnell, Robertson & Partners
36 King Street East, Suite 800
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 1E5
Telephone: (416) 216-0248
FAX: (416) 214-0605
Email: BHughes@orplawyers.com

Party: Her Majesty the Queen

Counsel
Name
Deborah Krick
Contact information
Attorney General of Ontario
720 Bay Street
10th floor
Toronto, Ontario
M5X 1K6
Telephone: (416) 326-2053
FAX: (416) 326-4656
Email: deborah.krick@ontario.ca

Party: Minassian, Alek

Counsel
Name
Boris Bytensky
Contact information
Bytensky Prutschi Shikhman
5000 Yonge Street, Suite 1708
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 7E9
Telephone: (416) 365-1773
FAX: (416) 365-0866
Email: bytensky@crimlawcanada.com

Summary

Keywords

Criminal law — Publication bans and sealing orders — Family members of an accused seeking sealing order over some information filed in pre trial applications relating to material seized from their residence — Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissing application — Whether Ontario Superior Court of Justice erred in finding the broader public interest outweighed the privacy interest of innocent third parties — Whether the Court should recognize broader categories of publication bans analogous to existing Criminal Code provisions — Whether there continues to be a jurisdictional lacuna in respect to appeals of publication bans and sealing orders requiring the attention and action of Parliament.

Summary

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

(SEALING ORDER AND PUBLICATION BAN IN CASE)

Following an arrest, the police executed a search warrant of the accused’s residence, which he shared with family members. During pre trial applications, there were references to material that the police discovered during their search of the residence. The family members sought a sealing order over that information. The Superior Court dismissed the family members’ application for a sealing order, finding that the deleterious effects of the sealing order for the broader public interest outweighed the family’s interest in protecting its privacy. In a subsequent decision, it agreed not to lift the temporary sealing order it had previously issued until further order.

Lower court rulings

August 16, 2019
Ontario Superior Court of Justice

2019 ONSC 4455, CR-18-40000612-0000

Application for a sealing order over some aspects of material filed by the Crown on pre-trial applications dismissed; implementation delayed — temporary sealing order and publication ban to be lifted September 27, 2019.

Filed documents

The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

The condensed books of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here upon receipt of the electronic version, 2 days prior to the scheduled appeal hearing. You may also obtain copies of condensed books by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a condensed book or want permission to use a condensed book, please contact the author of the condensed book directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each condensed book.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

Webcasts

Not available.

Date modified: 2025-02-27