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Chris Sewrattan

@sewrattanlaw.bsky.social
226 followers 100 following 855 posts

Criminal Lawyer | Law School Instructor sewrattan.com

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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
R. v. Arana, 2026 ONCA 710 at para 35: Under s. 24(2), a breach here caused by an institutional routine practice inconsistent with longstanding constitutional case law brings the state conduct closer to bad faith and increases its seriousness. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Arana - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
R. v. T.U., 2026 ONCA 680 at para 45: A Profit instruction says that evidence of public reputation has little relevance to private conduct. There is no bright line rule that it's inapplicable to semi-private conduct. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. T.U. - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
R. v. Trowbridge, 2026 ONCA 673: A five-member panel of the Court of Appeal has changed the test for vitiating consent to sexual touching that causes serious bodily harm. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
R. v. E.C., 2026 ONCA 669 at para. 26: New domestic abuse trial ordered because the jury should not have been told that there had to be independent evidence that the complainant fabricated her evidence. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. E.C. - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
R. v. R.B.-C., 2026 SCC 30: An 11(b) application for sentencing requires delay to be markedly longer than it reasonably should have been. The ordinary remedy is a sentence reduction. scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-...
scc-csc.lexum.com
R. v. R.B.-C. - SCC Cases
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
R. v. Brown, 2026 ONCA 654, citing 2018 ONCA 719 at para. 46: Regarding bail pending appeal, a person convicted of a serious offence is not “turned loose” on society while their appeal is proceeding if they are released on very stringent conditions. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Brown - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
R. v. Randall, 2026 ONCA 631 at para 17: The presence of a vape pen with a THC sticker within reach of a driver is grounds for a search under the Cannabis Control Act. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Randall - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Minotar Holdings Inc. v. Ontario, 2026 ONCA 606: Section 96 of the constitution protects the courts' structure, not any litigant's substantive rights. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
Minotar Holdings Inc. v. Ontario (Municipal Affairs and Housing) - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
R. v. Mackenzie, 2026 ONCA 620: In a Garofoli application, negligence cannot be the sole basis for the exercise of residual discretion to set aside an authorization on the basis that the police subverted the process. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Mackenzie - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
R. v. M.M., 2026 ONCA 617: Sexual assault conviction overturned because Justice Sandra Caponecchia created a reasonable apprehension of bias by engaging in a prolonged and sometimes confrontational cross-examination of the accused person. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. M.M. - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
R. v. Moore, 2026 ONCA 608: A motions judge at the ONCA has jurisdiction to stay a costs award granted in a criminal proceeding. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Moore - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
R. v. Edwards, 2026 ONCA 609: Stay overturned because the TJ should should have deducted ~4 months as an exceptional circumstance when the trial ran longer than expected, even though the trial Crown didn't argue this. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Edwards - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
R. v. Hornsby, 2026 ONCA 604: A rare successful use of the uneven scrutiny ground of appeal, which is "notoriously difficult to prove". coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Hornsby - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
R. v. R.G., 2026 ONCA 591 at para 52: If it's truly lay opinion, a witness’s professional credentials cannot be used to give it additional authority. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. R.G. - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
R. v. B.B., 2026 ONCA 583: A complainant reports 2 sexual assaults. The police dont charge for 1 bc her mother and aunt provide an alibi. Can the judge consider this to disbelieve the complainant? The SCC decides in 2027. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
R. v. S.S.D., 2026 ONCA 579: New trial ordered because it's impossible to reconcile the trial judge’s statement that he saw “few flaws” in the appellant’s evidence with his earlier statement that he found that the appellant was not credible or reliable. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. S.S.D. - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
R. v. E.O., 2026 ONCA 575: The Court's logic is shaky. It draws a line between a complainant not telling the worst lie and a complainant not telling the most convenient lie. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Every case summary I've posted, here and on Twitter before it, is now on my firm's website. Over a decade of Court of Appeal for Ontario and SCC decisions in one place. New summaries still go up here daily. The site is updated weekly. sewrattan.com/case-summari...
sewrattan.com
Case Summaries | Sewrattan Criminal Lawyers
Searchable archive of 955 criminal-law case summaries by Chris Sewrattan — Supreme Court of Canada and Court of Appeal for Ontario decisions, with the key passages quoted from each ruling.
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
R. v. Gauthier, 2026 ONCA 569 at para 31: The fact that Charter breaches do not trigger s. 24(2) does not mean they cannot be considered in the admissibility inquiry. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Gauthier - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
R. v. Maniatis, 2026 ONCA 567: A judge can presume that an accused was operating a vehicle if that vehicle is in fact inoperable and presents no realistic risk of danger. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Maniatis - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Reposted by Chris Sewrattan
Orin Kerr @orinkerr.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
NEW: Here, finally, is my new draft article on the Supreme Court's Chatrie decision. I think the ruling is tremendously important to Fourth Amendment law—and here's why. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
United States v. Wickramasinghe, 2026 ONCA 557 at para 42: In an extradition hearing, finding sufficient “nexus” to grant a stay for committal under the residual category is rarely warranted, reserved for exceptional cases involving egregious conduct with overwhelming evidence canlii.ca/t/kmdl4
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
United States v. Wickramasinghe - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
R. v. Qita, 2026 ONCA 554: A judge took so long to issue her reasons that, along with lesser factors, she rebutted the presumption of integrity. New trial ordered. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
R. v. D.P.R., 2026 ONCA 548: A conditional sentence for sexual interference against the offender's step-daughter is replaced with a 3-year penitentiary sentence. Paciocco J.A., concurring, wrote separately to limit the case to its facts. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. D.P.R. - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
R. v. N.F., 2026 ONCA 551: Fresh evidence showing that the appellant has a newborn baby and vulnerable daughter allows for a 10 month sentence reduction for trafficking fentanyl. Remaining sentence is 36 months. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. N.F. - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
R. v. Crossley, 2026 ONCA 540: In a case with a right of appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, two of Canada's leading criminal jurists, Fairburn and Paciocco, split on the most boring of issues, whether the Crown proved a charged as particularized. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Crossley - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
R. v. Goodridge, 2026 ONCA 538: In a case likely headed to the SCC, the ONCA finds that Hay did not change the law relating to directed verdicts of acquittal. Even if it did, that change does not apply to preliminary inquiries. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
R. v. Massicotte, 2026 ONCA 526: If a judge is going to belatedly invite submissions on a new route to liability, they must make clear which offence it could support. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Massicotte - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
R. v. King, 2026 ONCA 522: This case is going to the Supreme Court of Canada. Pat King's "Freedom Convoy" acquittal for intimidation by blocking a highway is replaced with a conviction. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. King - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Reposted by Chris Sewrattan
David Ebner @ebner.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
.... Richard Wagner was 18 when he watched his father’s dreams collapse in defeat .... www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... A detailed & revelatory feature profile on the Chief Justice of Canada's Supreme Court at a crux moment: the pending landmark Bill 21 judgment. In @theglobeandmail.com.
theglobeandmail.com
Bill 21 brings Chief Justice Richard Wagner to the decision of a lifetime
Eight years into the job, the Supreme Court’s leader weighs a country-shaping and career-defining judgment
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
R. v. Gallo, 2026 ONCA 519 at para 8: The problem of lockdowns and triple-bunking at the Central East Correctional Centre is endemic. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Gallo - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Quebec (Attorney General) v. Denis, 2026 SCC 25: The mandatory minimum sentence of six months’ imprisonment for obtaining sexual services from a child is constitutional. canlii.ca/t/klzvn
canlii.ca
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
R. v. Hayatibahar, 2026 ONCA 507 at para 83: Where a language barrier creates "special circumstances," police do not breach s. 10(b) by holding off on duty counsel until they can ensure the detainee understands his rights. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Hayatibahar - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
R. v. Ghoreishi, 2026 ONCA 508: The Court overturns a conditional sentence for a penetrative sexual assault. They would've imposed a 3 year sentence. But they decline to reincarcerate. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Ghoreishi - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
The Supreme Court of Canada will decide whether a civil contemnor is a person charged with an offence and thus entitled to be tried within a reasonable time under s. 11(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. www.scc-csc.ca/cases-dossie...
scc-csc.ca
Supreme Court of Canada | 42227
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
R. v. Konashewych, 2026 ONCA 497 at paras. 137-139: The aggravating factor in s. 380.1(1)(d) (taking advantage of the high regard in which the offender is held) did not require that the exploited status actually advanced the scheme. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Konashewych - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
R. v. Osei-Tutu, 2026 ONCA 499 at para 54: Jury instructions should avoid juxtaposing “professional” witnesses, who have notes, with “civilian” witnesses who do not. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Osei-Tutu - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
R. v. Serkissoon, 2026 ONCA 479: The s. 320.31(2) presumption of accuracy applies to blood seized under a general s. 487 warrant. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Serkissoon - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
R. v. Mahadai, 2026 ONCA 486: Although the Crown can promote incriminating inferences that are supported by the evidence, it cannot create speculative dialogue drawn from inferences. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Edmonton (Police Service) v. McKee, 2026 SCC 24: Police must hand over an officer's misconduct findings, guilty findings, and outstanding charges automatically. canlii.ca/t/klqf7
canlii.ca
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
R. v. Knight, 2026 ONCA 458 at para 92: The court declines to promote an enhanced Vetrovec caution for a hearsay statement, which could look for corroboration that actually implicates the accused person. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
R. v. L.T., 2026 ONCA 449: There was no reasonable expectation of privacy in two recordings secretly made by the complainant of conversations with the appellant, using the voice memo app on her cell phone. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
R. v. Brennan, 2026 ONCA 459: Unreasonable verdict. Did the veteran judge of 30 years really make this fundamental error? Probably not. But the verdict is unreasonable and the ONCA had the ingredients in the decision to walk away from it. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
R. v. Blanco, 2026 ONCA 433: Section 273.1(2)(c) (consent vitiated by abuse of a position of trust) can apply even where there is only a reasonable doubt about the absence of consent, not just where consent is found as a fact. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Blanco - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
R. v. Vu, 2026 ONCA 429: Unlike a discharged offender, a convicted offender can apply for a record suspension, following which their DNA sample is sequestered and unavailable for future forensic DNA analysis. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Vu - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
R. v. J.W., 2026 ONCA 455 at para 4: An accused person has no absolute right to a trial adjournment to retain new counsel because the right to counsel of choice is not absolute coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. J.W. - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
R. v. Cove, 2022 ONCA 877 at para. 21: Considerations by a bail judge of what evidence may or may not ultimately be admissible at trial are speculative and unhelpful at the bail stage. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
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Reposted by Chris Sewrattan
David TS Fraser @privacylawyer.ca · 22/06/2026
Prime Minister Carney announces the nomination of the Honourable Glenn D. Joyal to the Supreme Court of Canada www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news...
pm.gc.ca
Prime Minister Carney announces the nomination of the Honourable Glenn D. Joyal to the Supreme Court of Canada
Chief Justice Joyal’s distinguished career spans more than 25 years on the bench. He has served as Chief Justice of the Court of King’s Bench of Manitoba since 2011.
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
R. v. Refaeh, 2026 ONCA 438: Bravo to whoever wrote the facts for this decision. You don't even need to read the legal analysis to determine what the court of appeal did. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
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Chris Sewrattan @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
R. v. Gandhi, 2026 ONCA 407 at para. 7: The accused person's address on the charging document is not evidence. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...
coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca
R. v. Gandhi - Court of Appeal for Ontario
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