The Crown quietly dropped nearly 5,000 criminal charges last year over an error in sending court documentation to defendants, it has been learned The Press. “An irregularity in the meaning”, has just admitted the organization.
The blunder, passed over in silence until now, will deprive the public treasury of significant sums. The situation also raises questions about the validity of an unknown number of court decisions, rendered without certainty that the persons concerned have been notified.
The problem: At the start of the pandemic, Canada Post stopped requiring a signature on ExpressPost items used to send criminal charges instituted by the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP). However, the DPCP continued to use the service even if it no longer obtained confirmation that the defendants had indeed received the lawsuit against them. Without this confirmation, no legal significance and therefore no possible conviction.
Result: 4,694 charges dropped, the DPCP confirmed on Wednesday evening. The Press. “Files of a criminal nature of all laws combined,” said Ms.e Patricia Johnson, deputy spokesperson for the organization.
The DPCP refused the interview request of The Press, limiting itself to providing a written declaration. The organization did not respond to the clarification questions submitted.
The Bureau of Criminal Affairs (BAP) of the DPCP acts as the prosecutor for 275 provincial agencies and ministries. The canceled proceedings may therefore relate to the Highway Safety Code, but also environmental offenses, offenses related to food safety or breaches of the Charter of the French language, for example.
It was also this office that managed the application of the Public Health Act during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to our information, it is currently plagued by major work climate problems. Last year, he filed nearly 700,000 criminal lawsuits, mostly related to motor vehicle offences.
The Association of Criminal and Penal Prosecution Attorneys declined to comment on the case.
45,274 statements of offense survived
Me Johnson pointed out that “45,274 statements of offense had to be resignified”, therefore resent, but they were able to be saved.
However, as of last April, “3,049 statements of offense had to be served with an abandonment for a limitation period that had expired” and “1,645 statements of offense transferred for default trial had to be object of a stay of proceedings (nolle prosequi) because of the irregularity of service”. Total: 4,694 charges dropped, because the deadlines for starting over had expired.
On March 23, 2020, Canada Post introduced its “Ring, drop off, leave” policy to protect its letter carriers. “Delivery workers will knock or ring the doorbell, choose the safest place to drop off the item, and then proceed to the following address,” the federal Crown corporation explained in a statement issued at the time. . This measure had been put in place “to eliminate interactions with customers at the door, reduce traffic at post offices and support physical and social distancing measures”.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
On March 23, 2020, Canada Post introduced its “Ring, drop off, leave” policy to protect its letter carriers from COVID-19.
On March 23, 2021, exactly one year later, the method of sending criminal charges was changed. The DPCP and the Department of Justice had to “opt for Canada Post’s certified Xpresspost service, which requires proof of receipt by signature to pick up the shipment at the postal counter,” continued Ms.e Johnson.
In Quebec, citizens can receive two types of statements of offence: the “portable” statement, hand-delivered by the police officer who notices a speeding violation, for example, as well as the “general” statement, authorized by a prosecutor of the DPCP and sent by post. The problem of meaning affected this second type of observation.
The fines imposed in criminal law are varied. A polluter who violates environmental laws can be fined anywhere from $1,000 to $600,000, while a voter fraudster should stretch a check by $5,000 to $20,000. Lobbyists who violate their ethics rules can expect a fine of $500 to $25,000, while public screening of a film without the necessary permits can cost the individual up to $1,400. guilty.
This is not the first time that the DPCP has canceled procedures en masse for procedural reasons. In 2018, the Crown had given up on 8,600 statements of offense because it could no longer hope to meet the deadlines imposed by the Jordan decision of the Supreme Court of Canada.