Case information
Conduct a refined search of the Supreme Court of Canada database to obtain details on the status of a matter before the Court.
37972
Warrant Officer J.G.A. Gagnon v. Her Majesty the Queen
(Federal) (Criminal) (As of Right)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-11-21 | Appeal closed | |
| 2018-10-30 | Transcript received, Completed on: 2018-10-30 | |
| 2018-10-30 | Transcript received, 49 pages | |
| 2018-10-17 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2018-10-17 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2018-10-16 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Abe Mo Ka Ga Côt Br Row Mar Dismissed |
|
| 2018-10-16 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2018-10-16, CJ Abe Mo Ka Ga Côt Br Row Mar Judgment rendered |
|
| 2018-10-16 | Intervener's condensed book, (Book Form), 14 copies | Women's Legal Education and Action Fund |
| 2018-10-16 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), 14 copies | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-10-16 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), 14 copies | Warrant Officer J.G.A. Gagnon |
| 2018-10-16 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2018-10-16 Judgment rendered |
|
| 2018-10-02 | Notice of appearance, Mark Letourneau, Jean-Bruno Cloutier and Francesca Ferguson will be appearing and Mr. Letourneau will present oral arguments. | Warrant Officer J.G.A. Gagnon |
| 2018-10-02 | Notice of appearance, Mr. Bruce W. MacGregor, Anthony T. Farris and Domic G.J. Martin will be appearing. Mr. Dominic G.J. Martin will present oral arguments. | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-09-28 | Notice of appearance, Kelly McMillan and Shaun O'Brien will be appearing and Ms. McMillan will present oral arguments. | Women's Legal Education and Action Fund |
| 2018-09-04 | Reply factum on appeal, (Book Form), 1 copy missing - rec'd 2018/09/06, Completed on: 2018-09-04 | Warrant Officer J.G.A. Gagnon |
| 2018-08-27 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2018-08-20 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Book Form) | Women's Legal Education and Action Fund |
| 2018-08-20 | Notice of name, (Book Form) | Women's Legal Education and Action Fund |
| 2018-08-20 | Intervener's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2018-08-20 | Women's Legal Education and Action Fund |
| 2018-08-20 | Intervener's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2018-08-20 | Women's Legal Education and Action Fund |
| 2018-08-02 | Notice of change of counsel, (Letter Form), Major Dominic G.J. Martin and Lieutenant-Colonel Anthony T. Ferris are now counsel for the respondent, along with Colonel Bruce W. MacGregor. | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-07-10 | Order on motion for leave to intervene, (by ABELLA J.) | |
| 2018-07-10 |
Decision on the motion for leave to intervene, Abe, UPON APPLICATION by the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund for leave to intervene in the above appeal; AND THE MATERIAL FILED having been read; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: The motion for leave to intervene is granted and the said intervener shall be entitled to serve and file a factum not to exceed ten (10) pages in length on or before August 21, 2018. The said intervener is granted permission to present oral argument not exceeding five (5) minutes at the hearing of the appeal. The appellant is permitted to serve and file a factum not exceeding five (5) pages in reply to this intervention on or before September 4, 2018. The intervener is not entitled to raise new issues or to adduce further evidence or otherwise to supplement the record of the parties. Pursuant to Rule 59(1)(a) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada, the intervener shall pay to the appellant and respondent any additional disbursements resulting from its intervention. Granted |
|
| 2018-07-10 | Submission of motion for leave to intervene, Abe | |
| 2018-06-26 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2018-06-21 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-06-21 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-06-21 | Respondent's record, (Book Form), (3 volumes), Completed on: 2018-06-22 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-06-21 | Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2018-06-21 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-06-01 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2018-06-01 | Warrant Officer J.G.A. Gagnon |
| 2018-05-24 | Notice of name, (Letter Form) | Women's Legal Education and Action Fund |
| 2018-05-24 | Motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), Completed on: 2018-05-24 | Women's Legal Education and Action Fund |
| 2018-04-26 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form) | Warrant Officer J.G.A. Gagnon |
| 2018-04-26 | Appellant's record, (Book Form), Completed on: 2018-04-26 | Warrant Officer J.G.A. Gagnon |
| 2018-04-26 | Appellant's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2018-04-26 | Warrant Officer J.G.A. Gagnon |
| 2018-03-14 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right) | |
| 2018-03-12 | Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, Colonel Bruce MacGregor, response from the Registrar to letter dated March 5, 2018 - Notice of Appeal. | |
| 2018-03-07 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Respondent, re: Response to the Notice of Appeal filed - Requesting the questions of law that relate to the dissent. | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2018-03-05 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a notice of appeal, (FILE OPENED 2018-03-05) | |
| 2018-03-01 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | Warrant Officer J.G.A. Gagnon |
| 2018-03-01 | Notice of appeal, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2018-03-01 | Warrant Officer J.G.A. Gagnon |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Warrant Officer J.G.A. Gagnon | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Her Majesty the Queen | Respondent | Active |
Other parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Women's Legal Education and Action Fund | Intervener | Active |
Counsel
Party: Warrant Officer J.G.A. Gagnon
Counsel
Jean-Bruno Cloutier
Centre Asticou, Bloc 300
241 Boulevard Cité des jeunes
Gatineau, Quebec
J8Y 6L2
Telephone: (819) 934-3334
FAX: (819) 997-6322
Email: mark.letourneau@forces.gc.ca
Party: Her Majesty the Queen
Counsel
Bruce W. MacGregor
Anthony T. Farris
Tour Sud, 7e étage
101, promenade Colonel By
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0K2
Telephone: (613) 995-5698
FAX: (613) 995-1840
Email: dominic.martin@forces.gc.ca
Party: Women's Legal Education and Action Fund
Counsel
Nasha Nijhawan
Kelly McMillan
260 Spadina Avenue, Suite 309
Toronto, Ontario
M5T 2E4
Telephone: (416) 595-7170 Ext: 223
FAX: (416) 595-7191
Email: s.obrien@leaf.ca
Agent
World Exchange Plaza
100 Queen Street, suite 1300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1J9
Telephone: (613) 787-3562
FAX: (613) 230-8842
Email: neffendi@blg.com
Summary
Keywords
Criminal law - Sexual assault - Defences - Honest but mistaken belief in consent - Accused acquitted of sexual assault - Whether defence of honest but mistaken belief in complainant’s consent could be put to trier of fact - Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C 46, s. 273.2.
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 acquitted by the General Court Martial on a charge of sexual assault. The Crown appealed the acquittal. The majority of the Court Martial Appeal Court found that the trial judge, the Chief Military Judge, had made errors of law justifying a new trial and allowed the appeal. In its view, the Chief Military Judge could not put the defence of honest but mistaken belief in the complainant’s consent to the trier of fact, the court martial panel, without first considering, as a matter of law, the statutory limitations on the use of that defence set out in s. 273.2 of the Criminal Code. Bell C.J., dissenting, would have dismissed the appeal. In his view, the defence of honest but mistaken belief in consent had an air of reality in this case and the Chief Military Judge had correctly put it to the panel.
Lower court rulings
Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada
CMAC-577, 2018 CMAC 1
Appeal allowed: acquittal set aside and new trial ordered
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
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If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
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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