Case information

Extradition — Charter of Rights — Right to life, liberty, and security of person — Mobility rights —Administrative law —Judicial review — Minister of Justice ordering surrender of applicant for extradition to face charges in the United States of America — Whether surrender must shock the conscience of Canadians to be unjust or oppressive under s. 44(1)(a) of the Extradition Act — Whether surrender may be unjust or oppressive under s. 44(1)(a) or contrary to s. 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms where the person sought is alleged to have committed internet crimes from Canada that impacted victims abroad, but was already prosecuted domestically for similar offences affecting Canadian victims — Whether surrender in the face of a real risk of exposure to the United States’ federal civil commitment regime violates s. 7 of the Charter — Whether it is a legal error in a s. 6 Charter analysis to create a false dichotomy between surrender and the person sought walking free — Whether it is a legal error to import the high thresholds of shocking the conscience from s. 7 jurisprudence, and unjustness or oppressiveness from s. 44(1)(a), into the s. 6 Charter analysis — Extradition Act, S.C. 1999, c. 18, s. 44(1)(a).

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.

Applicant Kyle Jones is a Canadian citizen. On July 15, 2020, American authorities formally requested Mr. Jones’ extradition to the United States of America, to stand trial on charges of sexual exploitation of children and interstate communication-extortion. The charges relate to social media communications made in 2014 and 2015.

In 2017 Mr. Jones pleaded guilty to a similar offence (child luring under s. 172.1(1)(b) of the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46), carried out during the same time period, involving a different child in Canada. He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment and had been released on parole prior to the extradition request.

American authorities allege that in 2014 Mr. Jones began communicating via social media with a 13-year-old female who resided in Pennsylvania. Mr. Jones successfully encouraged her to send him sexually explicit videos and images of herself. The authorities further allege that Mr. Jones used these videos and images as leverage to extort further images and interactions from her; when she eventually refused, Mr. Jones sent some of the sexually explicit images to her friends and to her mother.

Following a committal hearing, a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ordered Mr. Jones’ committal into custody to await surrender. After the Minister of Justice ordered Mr. Jones’ surrender to the United States, Mr. Jones applied for judicial review of the Minister’s decision. A unanimous Court of Appeal dismissed Mr. Jones’ application.