Case information
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37845
Collet Dawn Stephan v. Her Majesty the Queen
(Alberta) (Criminal) (As of Right)
(Certain information not available to the public)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-06-01 | Appeal closed | |
| 2018-05-24 | Transcript received, Joint with 37845; 45 pages | |
| 2018-05-16 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2018-05-16 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2018-05-15 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Abe Mo Ka Ga Côt Row, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Alberta (Calgary), Number 1601-0171-A, 2017 ABCA 380, dated November 15, 2017, was heard on May 15, 2018, and the Court on that day delivered the following judgment orally: MOLDAVER J. — We are in essential agreement with the reasons of Justice O’Ferrall. In particular, we agree that the learned trial judge conflated the actus reus and mens rea of the offence and did not sufficiently explain the concept of marked departure in a way that the jury could understand and apply it. Accordingly, we would allow the appeal, quash the conviction and order a new trial. Allowed |
|
| 2018-05-15 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2018-05-15, CJ Abe Mo Ka Ga Côt Row Judgment rendered |
|
| 2018-05-15 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), joint with 37846; Submitted in Court (14 copies) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-05-15 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), joint with 37846; Submitted in Court (14 copies) | Collet Dawn Stephan |
| 2018-05-14 | Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, All parties from the Registrar; joint with 37846 - Motion will be required to restrict the materials filed. | |
| 2018-05-09 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Ferg (by email) Letter explaining the position of the Appellant on the Restriction under Legislation. | Collet Dawn Stephan |
| 2018-04-19 | Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Joint with 37846; Julie Morgan and Colin Schulhauser will be present at the hearing. Ms. Morgan will present oral arguments. | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-04-13 | Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Joint with 37846; Karen Molle and Kelsey Sitar will be present at the hearing. Ms Molle will present oral arguments. | Collet Dawn Stephan |
| 2018-04-12 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2018-04-05 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form), (Joint with 37846) | Collet Dawn Stephan |
| 2018-03-26 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form), (Joint with 37846) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-03-26 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), Form 23B - (Joint with 37846) - Amended version requested (rc'd on 2018-04-20) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-03-26 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), Form 23A - (Joint with 37846) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-03-26 | Respondent's book of authorities, (Book Form), (Joint with 37846), Completed on: 2018-03-26 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-03-26 | Respondent's record, (Book Form), (Joint with 37846) - RECORD SEALED - 2 redacted copies rc'd on 2018-03-26) Missing amended 23B (rc'd on 2018-04-20), Completed on: 2018-04-23 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-03-26 | Respondent's factum, (Book Form), (Joint with 37846) RESTRICTED - 2 redacted copies required.(1 copy rc'd on 2018-04-20), Completed on: 2018-04-23 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-03-22 | Order on motion for leave to intervene, (by Justice Karakatsanis) | |
| 2018-03-22 |
Decision on the motion for leave to intervene, Ka, UPON APPLICATION by the Natural Health Products Protection Association and the Rocky Mountain Civil Liberties Association (jointly) for leave to intervene in the above appeals; AND THE MATERIAL FILED having been read; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: The motion for leave to intervene is dismissed. Dismissed |
|
| 2018-03-22 | Submission of motion for leave to intervene, Ka | |
| 2018-03-12 | Reply to the motion for leave to intervene, Completed on: 2018-03-12 | Natural Health Products Protection Association |
| 2018-03-12 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2018-03-12 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2018-05-15 Judgment rendered |
|
| 2018-03-07 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), (joint with 37846), Completed on: 2018-03-07 | Collet Dawn Stephan |
| 2018-03-07 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), (joint with 37846), Completed on: 2018-03-07, (Electronic version filed on 2018-03-07) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-03-05 | Notice of name, (Letter Form) | Rocky Mountain Civil Liberties Association |
| 2018-03-05 | Notice of name, (Letter Form) | Natural Health Products Protection Association |
| 2018-02-26 | Motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), and for permission to file various documents and, if necessary, to raise a new issue (Joint with 37846), Completed on: 2018-02-26 | Natural Health Products Protection Association |
| 2018-01-29 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), (joint with 37846) | Collet Dawn Stephan |
| 2018-01-29 | Appellant's book of authorities, (Book Form), (joint with 37846), Completed on: 2018-01-29 | Collet Dawn Stephan |
| 2018-01-29 | Appellant's record, (Book Form), (9 volumes), (joint with 37846) Form 24A missing (received 2018-04-05)., Completed on: 2018-04-23 | Collet Dawn Stephan |
| 2018-01-29 | Appellant's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2018-01-29 | Collet Dawn Stephan |
| 2017-12-08 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right) | |
| 2017-11-20 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a notice of appeal | |
| 2017-11-16 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), amended certificate required-rec'd 2017/11/21 | Collet Dawn Stephan |
| 2017-11-16 | Notice of appeal, (Letter Form), CA Order rec'd 2017/11/27, Completed on: 2017-11-16 | Collet Dawn Stephan |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Stephan, Collet Dawn | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Her Majesty the Queen | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Stephan, Collet Dawn
Counsel
Suite 1705 639 5 Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 0M9
Telephone: (403) 984-1919
FAX: (844) 895-3926
Email: heather@mckaycriminaldefence.com
Agent
100- 340 Gilmour Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0R3
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: mfmajor@supremeadvocacy.ca
Party: Her Majesty the Queen
Counsel
3rd Floor, Centrium Place
300, 332 - 6 Avenue S.W.
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 0B2
Telephone: (403) 297-6005
FAX: (403) 297-3453
Email: julie.morgan@gov.ab.ca
Agent
160 Elgin Street
Suite 2600
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 786-8695
FAX: (613) 788-3509
Email: lynne.watt@gowlingwlg.com
Summary
Keywords
Criminal law - Failing to provide necessaries of life - Elements of offence - Charge to jury - Whether trial judge’s instruction to jury with respect to elements of offence constituted reversible error.
Summary
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.
The appellant was convicted by a jury of failing to provide the necessaries of life to her son, Ezekiel, who died of meningitis. She appealed her conviction, arguing that the trial judge’s charge to the jury was inadequate, that the trial was unfair and amounted to a miscarriage of justice, and that her rights to be tried within a reasonable time were breached. The majority in the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. O’Ferrall J.A., dissenting, would have allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial. He was of the view that the trial judge’s charge to the jury was confusing, misleading and deficient in describing a key element of the offence, and that the trial judge did not properly instruct the jury on the fault element or the mens rea of the offence.
Lower court rulings
Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta
130163405Q1
Appellant convicted of failing to provide the necessaries of life
Court of Appeal of Alberta (Calgary)
1601-0171-A, 2017 ABCA 380
Appeal dismissed
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
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Downloadable PDFs
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Related links
Factums on appeal
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
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