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.
31613
Martin Foster MacDonald v. Her Majesty the Queen
(Alberta) (Criminal) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008-10-16 | Appeal closed | |
| 2008-04-18 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2008-04-18 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2008-04-17 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Ba Bi LeB De F Abe Cha Ro, The appeal from the judgment of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, Number CAC 237840, 2006 NSCA 51, dated April 28, 2006, and the appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Alberta (Calgary), Number 0401-0297-A, 2006 ABCA 177, dated June 15, 2006, heard on October 15, 2007, are dismissed. Mr. Gibson’s order for a new trial is confirmed and Mr. MacDonald’s conviction is upheld. Binnie and Deschamps JJ. are dissenting. Dismissed |
|
| 2007-10-30 | Transcript received, (46 pages) | |
| 2007-10-15 | Judgment reserved OR rendered with reasons to follow | |
| 2007-10-15 | Acknowledgement and consent for video taping of proceedings, From all parties | |
| 2007-10-15 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2007-10-15, CJ Ba Bi LeB De F Abe Cha Ro Judgment reserved |
|
| 2007-10-12 | Notice of appearance, Alan D. Gold will be present at the hearing. | Martin Foster MacDonald |
| 2007-10-11 | Appellant's book of authorities, (Supplementary), Submitted in Court (14 copies), Completed on: 2007-10-11 | Martin Foster MacDonald |
| 2007-10-02 | Notice of appearance, David Marriott and Eric Tolpannen will be present at the hearing. | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2007-09-27 | Notice of appearance, Philip Perlmutter and James Palangio will be present at the hearing. | Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2007-08-23 | Correspondence received from, joint with #31546, Mr. Perlmutter dated aug-20-07, re: page 6 change in intervener's factum; c.c. to the parties (sent to the court aug-23-07) | Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2007-08-20 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2007-08-20 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2007-10-15 Judgment reserved |
|
| 2007-08-02 | Appellant's book of authorities, (SUPPLEMENTARY), Completed on: 2007-08-02 | Martin Foster MacDonald |
| 2007-07-18 |
Order by, Ro, (Revised Sept. 6/07)(Joint with 31546, Gibson v. R.) FURTHER TO THE ORDERS dated May 14 and June 4, 2007, in which Rothstein J. granted leave to intervene to the Attorney General of Ontario; IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED THAT the said intervener is granted permission to present oral argument not exceeding fifteen (15) minutes at the hearing of these appeals. Granted |
|
| 2007-07-06 | Intervener's book of authorities, (Joint with 31546), Completed on: 2007-07-06 | Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2007-07-06 | Intervener's factum, (Joint with 31546, amended CD rec'd Aug. 23/07), Completed on: 2007-07-23 | Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2007-06-18 | Order on motion to extend time | |
| 2007-06-18 |
Decision on motion to extend time, to serve and file the respondent's factum, record and book of authorities to June 4/07 and to present oral argument at the hearing of the appeal, F Granted |
|
| 2007-06-15 | Submission of motion to extend time, F | |
| 2007-06-15 | Response to motion to extend time, Completed on: 2007-06-15 | Martin Foster MacDonald |
| 2007-06-04 | Motion to extend time, to file the factum and authorities to June 4, 2007, Completed on: 2007-06-04 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2007-06-04 | Respondent's book of authorities, (service rec'd June 5/07), Completed on: 2007-06-07 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2007-06-04 | Respondent's factum, (service rec'd June 5/07), Completed on: 2007-06-06 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2007-05-25 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2007-05-14 | Letter sent to Intervener(s) | |
| 2007-05-14 | Order on motion for leave to intervene, (BY ROTHSTEIN J.) | |
| 2007-05-14 |
Decision on the motion for leave to intervene, Ro, The motion for leave to intervene of the applicant, the Attorney General of Ontario, is granted and the applicant shall be entitled to serve and file a factum not to exceed 20 pages. The request to present oral argument is deferred to a date following receipt and consideration of the written arguments of the parties and the intervener. The intervener shall not be entitled to raise new issues or to adduce further evidence or otherwise to supplement the record of the parties. Pursuant to Rule 59(1)(a) the intervener shall pay to the appellant and respondent any additional disbursements occasioned to the appellant and respondent by its intervention. Granted |
|
| 2007-05-10 | Submission of motion for leave to intervene, Ro | |
| 2007-05-02 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, e-mail from Gowlings dated May 2/07, Completed on: 2007-05-02 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2007-05-01 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, e-mail from Gold & Ass. dated May 1/02, Completed on: 2007-05-02 | Martin Foster MacDonald |
| 2007-04-19 | Motion for leave to intervene, Completed on: 2007-04-30 | Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2007-03-30 | Appellant's record, Completed on: 2007-03-30 | Martin Foster MacDonald |
| 2007-03-30 | Appellant's book of authorities, Completed on: 2007-03-30 | Martin Foster MacDonald |
| 2007-03-30 | Appellant's factum, Completed on: 2007-03-30 | Martin Foster MacDonald |
| 2007-01-08 | Notice of appeal, Completed on: 2007-01-08 | Martin Foster MacDonald |
| 2007-01-02 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Leave granted) | |
| 2006-12-15 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2006-12-15 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2006-12-14 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Alberta (Calgary), Number 0401-0297-A, 2006 ABCA 177, dated June 15, 2006, is granted. The appeal is to be heard with Robert Albert Gibson v. Her Majesty the Queen (31546). Granted |
|
| 2006-10-30 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, CJ Cha Ro | |
| 2006-10-24 | Correspondence received from, Alan Gold dated October 23, 2006. Re: 6 copies of judgment in Bray (2006 S.J. No. 631). | Martin Foster MacDonald |
| 2006-10-18 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, Completed on: 2006-10-18 | Martin Foster MacDonald |
| 2006-10-10 | Book of authorities | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2006-10-10 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2006-10-10 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2006-09-13 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal | |
| 2006-09-12 | Application for leave to appeal, (CA Reasons rec'd Sept. 13/06), Completed on: 2006-09-13 | Martin Foster MacDonald |
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
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| MacDonald, Martin Foster | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Her Majesty the Queen | Respondent | Active |
Other parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Attorney General of Ontario | Intervener | Active |
Counsel
Party: MacDonald, Martin Foster
Counsel
210 - 20 Adelaide St. E.
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 2T6
Telephone: (416) 368-1726
FAX: (416) 368-6811
Email: adgold@on.aibn.com
Agent
470 Somerset Street West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1R 5J8
Telephone: (613) 288-2890
FAX: (613) 288-2896
Email: email@lgreenspon.com
Party: Her Majesty the Queen
Counsel
Eric Tolppanen
3rd Floor, 9833 - 109 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2E8
Telephone: (780) 422-5402
FAX: (780) 422-1106
Email: david.marriott@gov.ab.ca
Agent
2600 - 160 Elgin St
P.O. Box 466, Stn "D"
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 788-3433
Email: henry.brown@gowlings.com
Party: Attorney General of Ontario
Counsel
James V. Polangio
Crown Law Office - Criminal
720 Bay Street, 10th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2K1
Telephone: (416) 326-5922
FAX: (416) 326-4656
Email: Philip.perlmutter@jus.gov.on.ca
Agent
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.
Criminal law (non Charter) - Evidence - Operation of vehicle with blood alcohol concentration exceeding legal limit - Statutory presumption of accuracy - Evidence to contrary adduced to rebut presumption - What type of expert and consumption evidence is capable of constituting evidence to the contrary under s. 258(1)(c) of the Criminal Code? - What is the legal impact on the statutory presumptions under s. 258(1) of the Criminal Code of opinion and consumption evidence that places the accused’s blood alcohol level possibly over as well as possibly under the legal limit?
The Applicant was charged with driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 140 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood. At trial, he led evidence for the purpose both of tending to show that his blood alcohol concentration was under the legal limit at the time of driving and that the breathalyzer tests were inaccurate. The Applicant testified that he consumed six cans of beer spaced evenly between 7:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., the last beer being finished five minutes before being stopped at 11:35 p.m. His alcohol consumption was confirmed by a friend. After testing, an expert testified that the Applicant’s elimination rate was 18.5 mg per cent per hour. The expert noted that this rate may not have been the actual elimination rate on the date in question. At the tested rate, the expert estimated that the Applicant would have had a blood alcohol concentration of 71 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood.
Lower court rulings
Provincial Court of Alberta
030255996P1
Applicant convicted of operating a vehicle with a concentration exceeding 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood contrary to s. 253(b) of the Criminal Code
Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta
0302 55996 S1; 2004 ABQB 629
Summary conviction appeal dismissed
Court of Appeal of Alberta (Calgary)
0401-0297-A; 2006 ABCA 177
Appeal dismissed
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
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 filing 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
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Related links
Factums on appeal
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