Case information
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38903
Cheung Wai Wallace Li v. Her Majesty the Queen
(British Columbia) (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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-03-02 | Appeal closed | |
| 2020-06-26 | Transcript received, 51 pages | |
| 2020-06-12 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2020-06-12 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2020-06-11 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Abe Mo Ka Côt Br Row Mar Kas, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver), Number CA45530, 2019 BCCA 344, dated October 3, 2019, was heard on June 11, 2020, and the Court on that day delivered the following judgment orally: MARTIN J. — Mr. Li pled guilty at trial, the trial judge entered a stay of proceedings based on entrapment, and the Court of Appeal lifted the stay and remitted the matter for sentencing. In this case, Mr. Li has a right of appeal to this Court under s. 691(2)(b) of the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46. The phrase “enters a verdict of guilty” includes making an order that sets aside a permanent stay where that order is tantamount to entering a verdict of guilty, thus securing the purpose of this provision, which is to ensure that an accused person has one level of appeal to raise a question of law arising from their conviction (see R. v. Magoon, 2018 SCC 14, [2018] 1 S.C.R. 309, at para. 38). We recognize that neither level of court in this appeal had the benefit of this Court’s reasons in R. v. Ahmad, 2020 SCC 11. As explained in Ahmad, when investigating a suspected dial-a-dope operation, the police must have reasonable suspicion over the individual or over the phone number or over a combination of both, before they can ask to purchase drugs from the person answering the phone. Applying this framework and considering the totality of the circumstances, the police had reasonable suspicion, before making the call, that the phone number was being used for drug dealing. The police used a Swan sheet to record what actions they took to verify this tip. The tip was that a specific phone number was being used in a dial-a-dope operation to sell cocaine, the sales took place near a particular mall, and involved a tan Honda Odyssey with a specific licence plate. In addition to the phone number, the tip provided details such as which drug was for sale, the area of operation, a vehicle description, and licence plate number. The police confirmed the assertion of illegality by connecting this car and licence plate, and five other vehicles, to a person with an extensive and recent history of suspected dial-a-dope drug dealings. Therefore, there was no entrapment. As a result, we dismiss the appeal, enter a verdict of guilty, and remit the matter for sentencing. Dismissed |
|
| 2020-06-11 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2020-06-11, CJ Abe Mo Ka Côt Br Row Mar Kas Judgment rendered |
|
| 2020-06-10 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form) | Cheung Wai Wallace Li |
| 2020-06-10 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2020-06-10 | Supplemental document, (Letter Form), reasons for judgment in R v Magoon, 2018 SCC 14, [2018] 1 SCR 309, Completed on: 2020-06-10 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2020-06-10 | Supplemental document, (Letter Form), Reasons for judgment in R v Biniaris, 2000 SCC 15, [2000] 1 SCR 381 , Completed on: 2020-06-10 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2020-05-29 | Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Eric Purtzki and Michael Sobkin will appear before the court on behalf of the appellant. Eric Purtzki will present oral argument. | Cheung Wai Wallace Li |
| 2020-05-29 | Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Christopher Greenwood and Edlyn Laurie will appear before the court on behalf of the respondent. Christopher Greenwood will present oral argument. | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2020-05-21 | Notice of Remote Participation by a Judge of the Supreme Court of Canada sent to all parties, (by email) | |
| 2020-05-21 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2020-06-11, BY VIDEOCONFERENCE (Previously scheduled on May 15, 2020) (previous tentative hearing date was April 22, 2020). Hearing will start at 1:30 p.m. EST. Judgment rendered |
|
| 2020-05-12 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2020-05-12 | Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2020-05-12 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2020-04-27 | Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, all parties, by the Registrar, Re: appeal to be heard by videoconference | |
| 2020-04-21 | Order on motion to extend time, by Justice Abella (sent to all parties via email April 22, 2020) | |
| 2020-04-21 |
Decision on motion to extend time, Abe, UPON APPLICATION by the appellant for an order extending the time to serve and file the factum and record to February 28, 2020; AND THE MATERIAL FILED having been read; AND NOTING the consent of the respondent; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: The motion is granted. Granted |
|
| 2020-04-21 | Submission of motion to extend time, Abe | |
| 2020-03-17 | Response to motion to extend time, Completed on: 2020-03-17 | Her Majesty the Queen |
| 2020-03-16 |
Motion to extend time, (Book Form), to serve and file the factum and record on February 28, 2020 (filing fee required), Incomplete |
Cheung Wai Wallace Li |
| 2020-03-11 | Notice of hearing sent to parties, (sent by email on May 21, 2020) | |
| 2020-02-27 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form) | Cheung Wai Wallace Li |
| 2020-02-27 | Appellant's record, (Book Form), (2 volumes), Missing: Motion for Extension of Time-rec'd 2020/03/16, Completed on: 2020-03-16 | Cheung Wai Wallace Li |
| 2020-02-27 | Appellant's factum, (Book Form), Missing: Motion for Extension of Time-rec'd 2020/03/16, Completed on: 2020-03-16 | Cheung Wai Wallace Li |
| 2020-02-17 | Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, the parties. New tentative hearing date set for May 15, 2020 (previous tentative hearing date was April 22, 2020). | |
| 2020-02-05 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), the appellant regarding the hearing date and filing deadlines. | Cheung Wai Wallace Li |
| 2020-01-30 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Concern regarding filing deadlines | Cheung Wai Wallace Li |
| 2020-01-23 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Notice of appeal – As of right) | |
| 2020-01-16 | Order on motion to extend time to serve and/or file notice of appeal, by KARAKATSANIS J. | |
| 2020-01-16 |
Decision on motion to extend time to serve and/or file notice of appeal, Ka, Revised January 22, 2020 UPON APPLICATION by the appellant for an order extending the time to serve and file the notice of appeal as of right to November 21, 2019; AND THE MATERIAL FILED having been read; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: The motion is granted. The parties are invited to provide written submissions in their appeal factums addressing this Court’s jurisdiction to hear the appeal as of right. Granted |
|
| 2020-01-16 | Submission of motion to extend time to serve and/or file notice of appeal submitted, Ka | |
| 2019-11-21 | Motion to extend the time to serve and/or file the notice of appeal, (Letter Form), Missing: Filing Fee (rec' 12/09/19), Completed on: 2020-01-03 | Cheung Wai Wallace Li |
| 2019-11-21 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | Cheung Wai Wallace Li |
| 2019-11-21 | Notice of appeal, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2019-11-21 | Cheung Wai Wallace Li |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Li, Cheung Wai Wallace | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Her Majesty the Queen | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Li, Cheung Wai Wallace
Counsel
1200-1111 Melville Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6E 2V6
Telephone: (604) 662-8167
FAX: (604) 681-0799
Email: purtzki@gmail.com
Agent
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0J8
Telephone: (613) 282-1712
FAX: (613) 288-2896
Email: msobkin@sympatico.ca
Party: Her Majesty the Queen
Counsel
Edlyn Laurie
900-840 Howe Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6Z 2S9
Telephone: (604) 666-0704
FAX: (604) 666-1599
Email: chris.greenwood@ppsc-sppc.gc.ca
Agent
160 Elgin Street
12th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H8
Telephone: (613) 957-4770
FAX: (613) 941-7865
Email: francois.lacasse@ppsc-sppc.gc.ca
Summary
Keywords
Criminal law - Defences - Entrapment - Dial-a-dope operations - Whether the appellant was entrapped by the police into committing a narcotic offence - Whether the police had a “reasonable suspicion” that the appellant was already engaged in criminal activity - Whether the telephone communication initiated by the police in this case was pursuant to a bona fide investigation so as to preclude a finding of entrapment.
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.
In the context of a dial-a-dope operation, the appellant, Mr. Li, pled guilty to one count of trafficking in cocaine contrary to s. 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, S.C. 1996, c. 19, but argued that the proceedings should be stayed on the basis that the charge was a result of police entrapment. The Provincial Court of British Columbia found Mr. Li was entrapped into committing the narcotics offence and ordered a stay of proceedings. A unanimous Court of Appeal allowed the Crown’s appeal from the judicial stay, ordered that the stay be set aside, and remitted the case back to trial court for sentencing. The Court of Appeal concluded that the trial judge misapprehended portions of the evidence, misapplied the legal test for entrapment, and reached a conclusion that was not available on the evidence.
Lower court rulings
Provincial Court of British Columbia
Stay entered on guilty plea to one count of trafficking in cocaine contrary to s. 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, S.C. 1996, c. 19.
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver)
2019 BCCA 344, CA45530
Appeal allowed and stay set aside.
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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