The Ontario Divisional Court released its decision in D’Arthenay v. Ontario. The CCLA was an intervenor in the case. Shakir Rahim, Director of the Criminal Justice Program, said: “This ruling is a step forward for meaningful police accountability. Every person has a right to know and understand how a police complaint is treated. Where the police cause a civilian death, it is the bare minimum for the public to understand the reasons for not pursuing disciplinary action.”
In this case, an OPP vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian, and it was up to the Commissioner of the OPP to decide if the misconduct was of a serious nature, which would trigger potential discipline. The Commissioner concluded the misconduct was not serious, but did not explain why. The Court ruled this was unreasonable. Under the Loi sur les services policiers, a person who files a police complaint has a legitimate expectation of receiving reasons justifying why conduct is not “of a serious nature” when an officer causes a civilian death.
L'ACLC remercie William McDowell et Alexa Jarvis de Lenzcner Slaght LLP pour leur excellent pro bono représentation dans ce cas.
À propos de l’association canadienne sur les libertés civiles
L’ACLC est un organisme indépendant à but non lucratif qui compte des sympathisant.e.s dans tout le pays. Fondé en 1964, c’est un organisme qui œuvre à l’échelle du Canada à la protection des droits et des libertés civiles de toute sa population.
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