Case information

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — Criminal law — Extraordinary remedies — Habeas corpus — Accused sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment following guilty plea to possession of cannabis for purpose of trafficking and to unlawfully producing controlled substance, both contrary to Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, SC 1996, c 19 — Accused did not appeal, but applied for writ of habeas corpus — Habeas corpus application dismissed — Accused’s appeal from dismissal of habeas corpus application dismissed — Accused’s application for extension of time to appeal conviction and sentence also dismissed.

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.

Mr. d’Abadie was charged with possession of cannabis for the purposes of trafficking contrary to s. 5(2) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, SC 1996, c 19, and with unlawfully producing a controlled substance contrary to s. 7. The allegations are alleged to have occurred on or about September 8, 2000. The respondent Crown proceeded with these charges as an indictable offence and on October 19, 2011, Mr. d’Abadie elected to be tried by Queen’s Bench judge and jury. Eventually, acting on his own as a self-represented litigant, Mr. d’Abadie agreed to a consent committal without the need for a preliminary inquiry. This occurred on October 5, 2012. A pre-trial conference was then held before Ball J. of the Court of Queen’s Bench on January 28, 2013.

On April 24, 2013, Mr. d’Abadie re-elected to Provincial Court and entered a guilty plea to the two charges. A pre-sentence report was ordered, but sentencing did not proceed because Mr. d’Abadie, who was released on bail, failed to appear contrary to the terms of his release. He was eventually picked up on a bench warrant over two years later and remanded into custody. On January 20, 2016, Mr. d’Abadie was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment. It appears that he had made an unsuccessful attempt to expunge his guilty plea. Mr. d’Abadie did not appeal the refusal to expunge his guilty plea or sentence. Instead, he applied for a writ of habeas corpus. His application was dismissed by Layh J. of the Court of Queen’s Bench in a decision rendered on March 24, 2016, as was his appeal from that decision. Mr. d’Abadie proceeded to file a Notice of Motion in the Court of Appeal on June 24, 2016, seeking an extension of the time to appeal his conviction and sentence pursuant to s. 678(2) of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46, and seeking judicial interim release. Herauf J.A., who heard his application on July 12, 2016, dismissed it. On August 2, 2016, Mr. d’Abadie filed a Notice of Appeal with the Court of Queen’s Bench, to expunge his guilty plea and to be released pending appeal. That appeal was also dismissed.