SUPREME
COURT OF CANADA
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Citation: R. v. Chouhan*
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Appeal
Heard and Judgment Rendered: October 7, 2020
Reasons
for Judgment: to follow
Docket: 39062
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Between:
Her Majesty The Queen
Appellant / Respondent on
cross-appeal
and
Pardeep Singh Chouhan
Respondent / Appellant on
cross-appeal
- and -
Attorney General of Canada, Attorney
General of Manitoba,
Attorney General of British Columbia,
Attorney General of Alberta,
Aboriginal Legal Services, Association
québécoise des avocats et avocates de la défense, David Asper Centre for
Constitutional Rights, Canadian Association of Black Lawyers, Canadian Muslim
Lawyers Association, Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers,
South Asian Bar Association of Toronto,
Advocates’ Society,
Defence Counsel Association of Ottawa,
Criminal Lawyers’ Association (Ontario),
Debbie Baptiste and British Columbia
Civil Liberties Association
Interveners
Coram: Wagner C.J. and Abella, Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Côté, Brown,
Rowe, Martin and Kasirer JJ.
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Judgment:
(para. 1)
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Wagner C.J. (Abella, Moldaver,
Karakatsanis, Côté, Brown, Rowe, Martin and Kasirer JJ. concurring)
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Counsel:
Andreea Baiasu and Michael Perlin, for the
appellant/respondent on cross-appeal.
Dirk Derstine and Tania Bariteau, for the
respondent/appellant on cross-appeal.
Jeffrey G. Johnston, for the intervener the Attorney
General of Canada.
Charles Murray, for the intervener the Attorney
General of Manitoba.
Lara Vizsolyi, for the intervener the Attorney
General of British Columbia.
Andrew Barg, for the intervener the Attorney General
of Alberta.
Caitlyn E. Kasper, for the intervener the Aboriginal
Legal Services.
Jean-Guillaume Blanchette, for the intervener Association québécoise des avocats et avocates
de la défense.
Kent Roach, for the intervener the David Asper Centre
for Constitutional Rights.
Peter Thorning, for the intervener the Canadian
Association of Black Lawyers.
Nader Hasan, for the interveners the Canadian Muslim
Lawyers Association and the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers.
Janani Shanmuganathan, for the intervener the South
Asian Bar Association of Toronto.
Jill R. Presser, for the intervener the Advocates’
Society.
Michael A. Johnston, for the intervener the Defence
Counsel Association of Ottawa.
Nathan Gorham, for the intervener the Criminal
Lawyers’ Association (Ontario).
Christopher R. Murphy, for the intervener Debbie
Baptiste.
Joshua Sealy-Harrington, for the intervener the British
Columbia Civil Liberties Association.
Note: This document is subject to editorial revision before its
reproduction in final form in the Canada Supreme Court Reports.
*Neutral citation to follow.
No. 39062
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October 13, 2020
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Le 13 octobre 2020
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Coram: Wagner C.J. and Abella, Moldaver,
Karakatsanis, Côté, Brown, Rowe, Martin and Kasirer JJ.
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Coram : Le juge en chef Wagner et
les juges Abella, Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Côté, Brown, Rowe, Martin et
Kasirer
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BETWEEN:
Her Majesty The Queen
Appellant / Respondent on
cross-appeal
- and -
Pardeep Singh Chouhan
Respondent / Appellant on
cross-appeal
- and -
Attorney General of Canada, Attorney
General of Manitoba, Attorney General of British Columbia, Attorney General
of Alberta, Aboriginal Legal Services, Association québécoise des avocats et
avocates de la défense, David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights,
Canadian Association of Black Lawyers, Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association,
Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, South Asian Bar Association of Toronto,
Advocates’ Society, Defence Counsel Association of
Ottawa, Criminal Lawyers’ Association (Ontario), Debbie Baptiste and British
Columbia Civil Liberties Association
Interveners
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ENTRE :
Sa Majesté la Reine
Appelante / Intimée à l’appel
incident
- et -
Pardeep Singh Chouhan
Intimé / Appelant à l’appel
incident
- et -
Procureur général du Canada, procureur
général du Manitoba, procureur général de la Colombie-Britannique, procureur
général de l’Alberta, Aboriginal Legal Services, Association québécoise des
avocats et avocates de la défense, David Asper Centre for Constitutional
Rights, Canadian Association of Black Lawyers, Association canadienne des
avocats musulmans, Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, South Asian Bar
Association of Toronto, Société des plaideurs, Defence Counsel Association of
Ottawa, Criminal Lawyers’ Association (Ontario), Debbie Baptiste et British
Columbia Civil Liberties Association
Intervenants
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JUDGMENT
The appeal
from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number C67600, 2020
ONCA 40, dated January 23, 2020, was heard on October 7, 2020, and
the Court on that day delivered the following judgment orally:
The Chief Justice — A majority of the
Court is of the view that the statutory change is constitutional and purely
procedural and therefore has retrospective application. Accordingly, the appeal
is allowed, the cross-appeal is dismissed and the conviction is restored.
Reasons to follow.
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JUGEMENT
L’appel
interjeté contre l’arrêt de la Cour d’appel de l’Ontario, numéro C67600, 2020
ONCA 40, daté du 23 janvier 2020, a été entendu le 7 octobre 2020
et la Cour a prononcé oralement le même jour le jugement suivant :
[traduction]
Le juge en chef — La
Cour à la majorité est d’avis que la modification législative est
constitutionnelle et purement procédurale, et qu’elle s’applique donc
rétroactivement. En conséquence, l’appel est accueilli, l’appel incident est
rejeté et la déclaration de culpabilité est rétablie. Motifs à suivre.
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C.J.C.
J.C.C.