Case information

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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 — Fitness of sentence — Accused guilty of dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and breaching two recognizances — Accused alleged police used excessive force during arrest but trial judge found no police misconduct — Accused sentenced to five years and six months incarceration — On appeal, sentenced varied to four years and nine months — Whether Court of Appeal erred in declining to further reduce sentence? — Whether Court of Appeal erred in limiting itself to sentencing judge’s analytical approach, having found palpable and overriding error in portion of judge’s analysis? — Whether Court of Appeal erred in considering effect of police misconduct, which trial judge failed to identify, when Court of Appeal deemed itself otherwise bound by judge’s analysis of totality principle? — Whether five year sentence for driving while disqualified unduly excessive and harsh where court deducts only nine months for police misconduct?

The applicant, Mr. Hanna, was charged with dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, assault with a weapon and breaching two recognizances. After observing Mr. Hanna driving in excess of the speed limit, a sheriff followed Mr. Hanna’s vehicle to a farmyard. Just as the sheriff was preparing to exit his vehicle, Mr. Hanna gunned his engine and sped by the sheriff’s vehicle, clipping the driver’s side door with his mirror. Following a spin-out, Mr. Hanna’s vehicle came to rest in a ditch. A police dog was used to apprehend Mr. Hanna. Mr. Hanna took the position that the charges should be stayed because the police used excessive force during the course of his arrest. The trial judge found Mr. Hanna guilty of dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and breaching two recognizances, but not guilty of assault with a weapon because the Crown failed to establish that Mr. Hanna intended to hit the sheriff’s vehicle or to threaten the sheriff. Considering the circumstances, releasing the police dog without warning Mr. Hanna first was not excessive, nor were the punches administered by the police. Mr. Hanna was sentenced to five years and six months incarceration and a seven year driving prohibition. A majority of the Court of Appeal, however, found that Mr. Hana should receive a sentence of three years and six months on the offence of driving while disqualified. On the offence of dangerous driving, the majority concluded that the trial judge’s consecutive sentence of two years should be subject to a deduction of nine months for the police’s misconduct. Therefore, the majority concluded that the final sentence was four years and nine months, less the 382 days credit for pretrial custody and the seven year licence suspension would remain as imposed. Berger J.A. (dissenting) would have allowed the appeal and substituted a sentence of three years and three months imprisonment less the 382 days credit for pretrial custody.