R. v. Collin

R. v. Collin
Collection
Supreme Court Judgments
Date
2019-12-13
Neutral citation
2019 SCC 64
Report
[2019] 4 SCR 650
Case number
38681
Judges
Karakatsanis, Andromache; Côté, Suzanne; Brown, Russell; Rowe, Malcolm; Martin, Sheilah
On appeal from
Quebec
Notes
SCC Case Information
Decision Content
SUPREME COURT OF CANADA
Citation: R. v. Collin, 2019 SCC 64, [2019] 4 S.C.R. 650
Appeal Heard: December 13, 2019 Judgment Rendered: December 13, 2019 Docket: 38681
Between:
Alexandre Collin Appellant
and
Her Majesty The Queen Respondent
Official English Translation
Coram: Karakatsanis, Côté, Brown, Rowe and Martin JJ.
Reasons for Judgment: (para. 1)
Karakatsanis J. (Côté, Brown, Rowe and Martin JJ. concurring)
r. v. collin
Alexandre Collin Appellant
v.
Her Majesty The Queen Respondent
Indexed as: R. v. Collin
2019 SCC 64
File No.: 38681.
2019: December 13.
Present: Karakatsanis, Côté, Brown, Rowe and Martin JJ.
on appeal from the court of appeal for quebec
Criminal law — Dangerous driving causing bodily harm — Causation — Accused acquitted of dangerous driving causing bodily harm but convicted of included offence of dangerous driving — Court of Appeal setting aside acquittal and entering conviction for dangerous driving causing bodily harm — Court of Appeal finding that trial judge erred in law by analyzing causation based on erroneous legal standard and that error had material bearing on acquittal — Conviction for dangerous driving causing bodily harm affirmed.
APPEAL from a judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal (Bélanger, Vauclair and Mainville JJ.A.), 2019 QCCA 887, 442 D.L.R. (4th) 3, [2019] AZ-51598010, [2019] Q.J. No. 4127 (QL), 2019 CarswellQue 12131 (WL Can.), setting aside the acquittal of the accused for dangerous driving causing bodily harm and entering a conviction. Appeal dismissed.
Karl-Emmanuel Harrison and Rita Magloé Francis, for the appellant.
Éric Bernier and Ariane Lacasse, for the respondent.
English version of the judgment of the Court delivered orally by
[1] Karakatsanis J. — We are of the view that the trial judge made an error of law as regards the applicable test in his analysis of causation. We are also satisfied that the findings of fact made by the judge show that the accused’s dangerous driving significantly contributed to the bodily harm suffered by the victim. We agree with the Court of Appeal that a conviction must be entered on the count of dangerous driving causing bodily harm. The appeal is therefore dismissed and the judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal is affirmed.
Judgment accordingly.
Solicitor for the appellant: Karl-Emmanuel Harrison, Longueuil.
Solicitor for the respondent: Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions, Saint-Jérôme.