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35364

Her Majesty the Queen v. John Melville Steele

(Manitoba) (Criminal) (By Leave)

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)
2014-11-04 Appeal closed
2014-10-10 Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties
2014-10-10 Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties
2014-10-09 Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Abe Ro Cro Mo Ka Wa, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Manitoba, Number AR 11-30-07625, 2013 MBCA 21, dated March 13, 2013, heard on April 17, 2014, is allowed without costs. The application for remand for an assessment pursuant to s. 752.1(1) of the Criminal Code is granted.
Allowed, without costs
2014-05-05 Transcript received, 97 pages
2014-04-17 Judgment reserved OR rendered with reasons to follow
2014-04-17 Hearing of the appeal, 2014-04-17, CJ Abe Ro Cro Mo Ka Wa
Judgment reserved
2014-04-17 Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), Filed in Court John Melville Steele
2014-04-17 Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), Filed in Court Her Majesty the Queen
2014-04-16 Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Leslie Paine and Michelle Campbell will be appearing Attorney General of Ontario
2014-04-14 Supplemental document, (Letter Form), Two additional decisions to which the Crown may refer to in the oral argument. Both decisions will be included in the Condensed Book of Authorities. , Completed on: 2014-04-14 Her Majesty the Queen
2014-04-10 Notice of appearance, Mr. David Soper and Ms. Amanda Sansregret, will appear for the hearing. Mr. Soper will present oral argument and Ms. Sansregret will argue the Reply, if any. John Melville Steele
2014-04-07 Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Mr. Jeffrey G. Johnston will present oral argument at the hearing Attorney General of Canada
2014-04-04 Order by, Ro, FURTHER TO THE ORDER dated February 10, 2014, granting leave to intervene to the Attorney General of Canada and the Attorney General of Ontario;
IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED THAT the said interveners are each granted permission to present oral argument not exceeding ten (10) minutes at the hearing of the appeal.
Granted
2014-04-03 Intervener's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2014-04-03, (Electronic version filed on 2014-04-03) Attorney General of Canada
2014-04-03 Intervener's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2014-04-03, (Electronic version filed on 2014-04-03) Attorney General of Canada
2014-04-03 Intervener's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2014-04-03, (Electronic version filed on 2014-04-03) Attorney General of Ontario
2014-04-03 Intervener's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2014-04-03, (Electronic version filed on 2014-04-03) Attorney General of Ontario
2014-03-12 Notice of appearance, Amiram Kotler will be present at the hearing. Her Majesty the Queen
2014-03-07 Notice of hearing sent to parties
2014-03-04 Appeal hearing scheduled, 2014-04-17, Early start 9 a.m. (previously tentatively scheduled for May 15, 2014)
Judgment reserved
2014-02-11 Appeal perfected for hearing
2014-02-10 Order on motion for leave to intervene, by ROTHSTEIN J.
2014-02-10 Decision on the motion for leave to intervene, Ro, UPON APPLICATIONS by the Attorney General of Canada and the Attorney General of Ontario for leave to intervene in the above appeal;
AND THE MATERIAL FILED having been read;
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
The motion for leave to intervene of the Attorney General of Canada and the Attorney General of Ontario are granted and the said two interveners shall be entitled to serve and file a factum not to exceed 10 pages in length on or before April 3, 2014.
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 is not 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) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada, the intervener shall pay to the appellant and respondent any additional disbursements occasioned to the appellant and respondent by its intervention.
Granted
2014-02-10 Submission of motion for leave to intervene, Ro
2014-02-05 Respondent's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2014-02-05 John Melville Steele
2014-02-05 Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2014-02-05 John Melville Steele
2014-01-27 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2014-01-27 Her Majesty the Queen
2014-01-27 Motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), Completed on: 2014-01-27, (Printed version filed on 2014-01-27) Attorney General of Ontario
2014-01-24 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2014-01-24, (Printed version filed on 2014-01-24) John Melville Steele
2014-01-24 Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2014-01-24, (Printed version filed on 2014-01-24) Her Majesty the Queen
2014-01-24 Motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), Completed on: 2014-01-24, (Electronic version filed on 2014-01-24) Attorney General of Canada
2013-12-24 Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), further to their letter dated 2013-11-01 and received 2013-11-18. Her Majesty the Queen
2013-12-11 Appellant's book of authorities, Completed on: 2013-12-11 Her Majesty the Queen
2013-12-11 Appellant's record, Completed on: 2013-12-11 Her Majesty the Queen
2013-12-11 Appellant's factum, Completed on: 2013-12-11 Her Majesty the Queen
2013-11-18 Correspondence received from, Ami Kotler by mail, re: the respondent has appealed his conviction to the Mantioba Court of Appeal Her Majesty the Queen
2013-09-20 Notice of appeal, Completed on: 2013-09-20 Her Majesty the Queen
2013-08-23 Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Leave granted)
2013-08-23 Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties
2013-08-23 Judgment on leave sent to the parties
2013-08-22 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 Manitoba, Number AR 11-30-07625, 2013 MBCA 21, dated March 13, 2013, is granted without costs.
Granted, without costs
2013-07-08 All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, CJ Abe Cro
2013-06-11 Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-06-12 John Melville Steele
2013-05-15 Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal
2013-05-10 Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-05-15 Her Majesty the Queen

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
Her Majesty the Queen Appellant Active

v.

Main parties - Respondents
Name Role Status
Melville Steele, John Respondent Active

Other parties

Other parties
Name Role Status
Attorney General of Canada Intervener Active
Attorney General of Ontario Intervener Active

Counsel

Party: Her Majesty the Queen

Counsel
Names
Amiram Kotler
Neil Steen
Contact information
Attorney General of Manitoba
510 - 405 Broadway
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3C 3L6
Telephone: (204) 945-0833
FAX: (204) 945-1260
Email: ami.kotler@gov.mb.ca
Agent
Name
Henry S. Brown, Q.C.
Contact information
Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP
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: Melville Steele, John

Counsel
Names
J. David L. Soper
Amanda Sansregret
Contact information
Walsh & Company
2nd Floor - 426 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3C 0C9
Telephone: (204) 947-2282
FAX: (204) 943-0211
Email: dsoper@walshandco.com
Agent
Name
Marie-France Major
Contact information
Supreme Advocacy LLP
100- 340 Gilmour Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0R3
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: mfmajor@supremeadvocacy.ca

Party: Attorney General of Canada

Counsel
Name
Jeffrey G. Johnston
Contact information
Attorney General of Canada
2115 - 284 Wellington Street
East Memorial Building
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H8
Telephone: (613) 941-3528
FAX: (613) 957-8412
Email: jeffrey.johnston@justice.gc.ca
Agent
Name
Robert J. Frater
Contact information
Attorney General of Canada
50 O'Connor Street, Suite 500, Room 556
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L2
Telephone: (613) 670-6289
FAX: (613) 954-1920
Email: robert.frater@justice.gc.ca

Party: Attorney General of Ontario

Counsel
Names
Leslie Paine
Michelle Campbell
Contact information
Attorney General of Ontario
720 Bay Street
10th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2K1
Telephone: (416) 326-4600
FAX: (416) 326-4656
Email: Leslie.Paine@ontario.ca
Agent
Name
Robert E. Houston, Q.C.
Contact information
Burke-Robertson
441 MacLaren Street
Suite 200
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 2H3
Telephone: (613) 236-9665
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 - Sentencing - Robbery - Crown brought an application for remand for assessment of the Respondent pursuant to s. 752.1(1) of the Criminal Code - Assessment, if granted, would have formed the basis of an application to declare the Respondent a dangerous or long-term offender - Crown’s application denied - Did the Manitoba Court of Appeal err in concluding that the Respondent’s offence was not a “serious personal injury offence” under Criminal Code s. 752 because it did not “involv[e] the use or attempted use of violence”.

The Respondent was convicted of robbery, disguise with intent and failing to comply with probation orders. The Crown gave notice of an intention to apply for remand for an assessment report pursuant to s. 752.1(1) of the Code. The assessment, if granted, would have formed the basis of an application to declare the Respondent a dangerous or long-term offender. The trial judge concluded that, at most, there was an “implied threat of violence”, rather than “the use or attempted use of violence” found in the definition of a serious personal injury offence in s. 752. The Crown’s application for remand for an assessment was denied. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.

Lower court rulings

July 26, 2011
Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba

10-01-30497

Conviction for robbery, disguise with intent and two counts of failing to comply with probation orders; Crown’s application for remand for assessment under s. 752.1(1) of the Criminal Code denied

March 13, 2013
Court of Appeal of Manitoba

AR 11-30-07625, 2013 MBCA 21

Appeal dismissed

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

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Date modified: 2025-05-13