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30561

P.E.C. v. Her Majesty the Queen

(British Columbia) (Criminal) (As of Right)

(Publication ban in case) (Publication ban on party)

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)
2006-04-19 Appeal closed
2005-04-28 Transcript received, 55 pages
2005-04-20 Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties
2005-04-19 Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Ma Ba Bi LeB De F Abe Cha, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver), Number CA029550, dated September 15, 2004, was heard this day and the following judgment was rendered:

Charron J. — This appeal comes to this Court as of right on the question of whether the trial judge erred by failing to deal with the evidence on each count separately when she considered the evidence relating to other counts in assessing the credibility of the appellant in respect of a particular set of counts. In our view, the trial judge made no such error. The verdict on each count of an indictment must, of course, be based on evidence admissible with respect to that count; in assessing the credibility of each witness, including the accused, the trial judge was entitled, however, to consider the totality of the evidence given by that witness. In doing so, she did not engage in a prohibited line of reasoning contrary to the rule against similar fact evidence.

However, the findings of credibility in this case were so intertwined, as evidenced by the very impugned passage in the trial judge's reasons, that it is difficult to identify the logic that led to the divided result reached by the Court of Appeal. Because a new trial has been ordered on the counts involving the complainant S.P., an order that has not been appealed before this Court, we are of the view that there should also be a new trial on the counts involving J.C. For these reasons, the appeal is allowed, the convictions are set aside and a new trial is ordered.
Allowed
2005-04-19 Acknowledgement and consent for video taping of proceedings, from all parties.
2005-04-19 Hearing of the appeal, 2005-04-19, CJ Ma Ba Bi LeB De F Abe Cha
Judgment rendered
2005-04-19 Supplemental document, supplemental authorities submitted in Court (14 copies) Her Majesty the Queen
2005-04-18 Order on motion to extend time
2005-04-18 Decision on motion to extend time, to serve and file the appellant's record and factum to Jan. 21/05 and its book of authorities to Apr. 11/05, Reg
Granted
2005-04-18 Submission of motion to extend time, Reg
2005-04-14 Response to motion to extend time, e-mail from Burke-Robertson dated Apr. 14/05 (for authorities only), Completed on: 2005-04-14 Her Majesty the Queen
2005-04-07 Response to motion to extend time, (Letter Form), from John M. Gordon dated Jan. 17/05 (for record and factum only), Completed on: 2005-04-07 Her Majesty the Queen
2005-04-07 Motion to extend time, to file the appellant's record and factum to Jan. 21/05 and the authorities to Apr. 11/05, Completed on: 2005-04-07 P.E.C.
2005-04-07 Appellant's book of authorities, Completed on: 2005-04-07 P.E.C.
2005-04-01 Notice of appearance, Verbally confirmed that Ursula Botz will be present at the hearing. Her Majesty the Queen
2005-03-21 Respondent's book of authorities, Completed on: 2005-03-29 Her Majesty the Queen
2005-03-21 Respondent's factum, Completed on: 2005-03-21 Her Majesty the Queen
2005-03-18 Appeal perfected for hearing
2005-03-02 Notice of hearing sent to parties
2005-03-02 Appeal hearing scheduled, 2005-04-19, (previously May 19/05)
Judgment rendered
2005-01-21 Appellant's factum, (extension of time requested), Incomplete P.E.C.
2005-01-20 Appellant's record, Vol. I to IV (extension of time requested), Incomplete P.E.C.
2004-11-23 Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right)
2004-10-14 Notice of appeal, (25B and reasons for judgment included), Completed on: 2004-10-14 P.E.C.

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
P.E.C. Appellant Active

v.

Main parties - Respondents
Name Role Status
Her Majesty the Queen Respondent Active

Counsel

Party: P.E.C.

Counsel
Name
D. Mitchell Foster
Contact information
2nd floor - 195 Alexander Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6B 1B8
Telephone: (604) 688-8338
FAX: (604) 688-8356
Agent
Name
Brian A. Crane, Q.C.
Contact information
Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP
2600 - 160 Elgin St
Box 466 Station D
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 563-9869
Email: brian.crane@gowlingwlg.com

Party: Her Majesty the Queen

Counsel
Name
Ursula Botz
Contact information
Attorney General of British Columbia
865 Hornby Street
6th Floor
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6Z 2G3
Telephone: (604) 660-1126
FAX: (604) 660-1142
Agent
Name
Robert E. Houston, Q.C.
Contact information
Burke-Robertson
70 Gloucester Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0A2
Telephone: (613) 566-2058
FAX: (613) 235-4430
Email: rhouston@burkerobertson.com

Summary

Keywords

None.

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.

The Appellant, who was 59 years old at the time of the trial, is the father of one of the complainants, who was 11 and 12 years old when the incidents in question are alleged to have taken place and 13 years old at the time of trial. The second complainant was 11 years old at the time of the incidents and 13 years old at the time of trial.

At trial, the trial judge dealt with the counts involving the Appellant's daughter first. She accepted the girl's evidence as credible on material issues and disbelieved the Appellant in his denials. The trial judge found that the second complainant was not telling the truth when she testified on some matters. The trial judge found the Appellant guilty of six counts in the indictment, sexual assault; sexual interference; and inviting sexual touching. In supplementary reasons, the trial judge entered conditional stays on the sexual interference charges and entered convictions on one count of sexual assault and one count of inviting sexual touching with respect to each of the two complainants. On appeal, the majority of the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal with respect to counts 6, 7 and 8 involving the daughter. Oppal J.A. dissenting would have allowed the appeal on those counts and ordered a new trial on the basis that the trial judge erred in using inadmissible evidence in rejecting the Appellant's evidence.

Lower court rulings

September 15, 2004
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver)

CA029550

Appeal dismissed with respect to counts 6, 7 and 8; appeal allowed with respect to counts 1,2 and 3 and new trial ordered

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: 2025-05-13