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Case information

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40144

Clifford Barry Howdle v. Warden of Mission Medium Institution

(British Columbia) (Civil) (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)
2023-04-24 Close file on Leave
2023-04-24 Reconsideration not accepted for filing, (Letter by the Registrar sent by email)
2023-04-17 Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete motion for reconsideration
2023-02-22 Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, both parties, by mail, Re: certificate of taxation
2023-02-14 Certificate of taxation issued to, Charmaine de los Reyes
2023-02-14 Decision on the bill of costs, in the amount of $1,114.90, Reg
2023-02-14 Submission of the bill of costs, Reg
2022-12-01 Motion for reconsideration of the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2023-04-17 Clifford Barry Howdle
2022-11-07 Bill of costs, Completed on: 2023-02-09 Warden of Mission Medium Institution
2022-10-20 Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties
2022-10-20 Judgment on leave sent to the parties
2022-10-20 Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The motion for an extension of time to serve and file the application for leave to appeal is granted. The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver), Number CA45781, 2020 BCCA 334, dated November 27, 2020, with supplementary reasons dated February 2, 2021, 2021 BCCA 334, is dismissed with costs.
Dismissed, with costs
2022-10-20 Decision on motion to extend time to file and /or serve the leave application, See decision on the application.
Granted
2022-09-12 All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court
2022-09-12 Submission of miscellaneous motion, for consideration by the Court
2022-09-12 Submission of motion to extend time to file and/ or serve the leave application, for consideration by the Court
2022-06-28 Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2022-06-30 Clifford Barry Howdle
2022-06-27 Notice of name, (Letter Form), (Printed version due on 2022-07-05) Warden of Mission Medium Institution
2022-06-27 Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Printed version due on 2022-07-05) Warden of Mission Medium Institution
2022-06-27 Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2022-06-27, (Printed version due on 2022-07-05) Warden of Mission Medium Institution
2022-05-27 Letter advising parties of a complete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED 2022/05/27
2021-09-15 Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Letter requesting an update on the filing of the application for leave to appeal Clifford Barry Howdle
2021-09-08 Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Letter regarding the paper filing of the application for leave to appeal Clifford Barry Howdle
2021-09-08 Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) Clifford Barry Howdle
2021-09-08 Notice of miscellaneous motion, (Letter Form), Motion to Join, Completed on: 2022-05-18 Clifford Barry Howdle
2021-09-08 Motion to extend the time to file and or serve the application for leave to appeal, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2022-05-18 Clifford Barry Howdle
2021-09-08 Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Initial application rec'd by fax 2021/03/23
BCSC Order rec'd 2021/12/13, Completed on: 2021-12-13
Clifford Barry Howdle

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
Howdle, Clifford Barry Applicant Active

v.

Main parties - Respondents
Name Role Status
Warden of Mission Medium Institution Respondent Active

Counsel

Party: Howdle, Clifford Barry

This party is not represented by counsel.

Party: Warden of Mission Medium Institution

Counsel
Charmaine De Los Reyes
Department of Justice
Robson Court
900 - 840 Howe Street
Vancouver
V6Z 2S9
Telephone: (604) 658-8959
Email: charmaine.delosreyes@justice.gc.ca
Agent
Christopher M. Rupar
Attorney General of Canada
Department of Justice Canada, Civil Litigation Section
50 O'Connor Street, 5th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H8
Telephone: (613) 941-2351
FAX: (613) 954-1920
Email: christopher.rupar@justice.gc.ca

Summary

Keywords

Prisons — Inmates — Security reclassification within clustered prison — How far is one part of the Canadian justice system allowed to go to protect and cover up for the unlawful action and behaviours of other parts of the Canadian Justice System.

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.

In 2017, a review of Mr. Howdle’s security classification resulted in a score corresponding to a medium security rating. The Correctional Service of Canada exercised its discretion to override that rating and he was placed in the minimum security portion of Mission Institution, a clustered institution with a minimum security setting and a medium security setting. In order to remain in the minimum security setting, he was required to follow his management plan. It instructed his case management team to employ a cautious approach, intervening quickly at the first sign of deteriorating behaviour. In April 2018, the case management team noted behaviours that indicated an escalation in his risk level to reoffend. In May 2018, he was told that he was being moved into Mission Institution’s medium security setting. He was given the documents required when an inmate is involuntarily moved within a single institution: Corrections and Conditional Release Act, S.C. 1992, c. 20; Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations, SOR/92-620; Commissioner’s Directive 710-2-4. The documents disclosed that his case management team had recommended that he be classified as medium security and transferred. Mr. Howdle offered a rebuttal to the concerns expressed in the documents and was present when the Warden’s Review Board met to address the case management team’s recommendation. The Warden’s written decision increased his security classification to medium security and approved his involuntary transfer to the medium security setting. Mr. Howdle applied for habeas corpus seeking to be returned to the minimum security setting.

Mr. Howdle’s application for habeas corpus was dismissed. His appeal was also dismissed, as was his application to reopen the appeal.

Lower court rulings

October 15, 2018
Supreme Court of British Columbia

27652, 2018 BCSC 1775

Application for habeas corpus dismissed

November 27, 2020
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver)

CA45781, 2020 BCCA 334

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

Not available

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

Webcasts

Not available.

Date modified: 2025-02-27