Case information

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — Fiduciary duty — Duplicative damages — Applicants claiming sexual assault by corrections officer while incarcerated — Tort claims filed against corrections officer and province — Amended Notice of Civil Claim also requesting Charter damages — Whether availability of tort remedy nullifies plea for Charter remedies — Whether consideration of alternative remedy requires consideration of factual matrix or is pure legal question — Whether court of appeal created litigation playbook for state to avoid constitutional review and remedies under Charter, s. 24(1) — Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s. 24(1).

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.

While incarcerated at the Lower Mainland Regional Correctional Centre in Burnaby, B.C., the applicants claim to have been sexually abused by the defendant who, at the time, was a corrections officer employed by the Corrections Branch of the Province. Shortly before trial, the applicants filed an Amended Notice of Civil Claim which advanced a claim for damages under s. 24(1) of the Charter and breach of fiduciary duty, as well as a Notice of Constitutional Question. The respondents applied to strike such claims based on the belief the applicants have sufficient remedy under the tort claims expressed in their pleadings, thus, rendering Charter damages unnecessary.

The chambers judge struck the pleadings and the Notice of Constitutional Question. He found that the available remedies in tort would adequately meet the need for compensation, vindication, and deterrence such that a further award of damages under s. 24(1) of the Charter would serve no purpose. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and allowed a cross-appeal.