Case information

Charter of rights – Highway Safety Code, C.Q.L.R. c. C-24.2 – Speeding – Penal procedure – Transfers – Non-residents – Cruel and unusual punishment – Fair trial – Whether the Superior Court erred in deciding that art. 177 of Code of Penal Procedure, C.Q.L.R. c. C-25.1, is not available to non-Quebec residents and that it complies with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in not granting leave to appeal.

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Mr. Danielson, applicant, is an Ontario resident. He was charged with speeding in the district of Beauharnois, Quebec, and subsequently applied pursuant to s. 177 of the Code of Penal Procedure, C.Q.L.R. c. C-25, in the district of Gatineau, to have his trial transferred there because it was closer to his residence and the university he attended. The Provincial Court refused to consider the application essentially on the basis that that article was not available to non-Quebec residents. Mr. Danielson then presented an application for judicial review, asking the Superior Court to quash the Provincial Court’s decision and compel it to decide the matter. Mr. Danielson also applied to the court for a declaration that art. 177 Code of Penal Procedure was unconstitutional because it infringed his rights guaranteed by ss. 11(d) and 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Superior Court dismissed the applications. The Court of Appeal denied leave to appeal on the basis that the question was moot because Mr. Danielson had, by that time, been acquitted. Otherwise, the court found that the question could have been of interest.