Certificate of Offence

Corporation of the City of Thunder Bay v. Kamenawatamin, 2009 CanLII 15905 (ON SC)

[6] In R. v. Coté, 1977 CanLII 1 (SCC), [1978] 1 S.C.R. 8 (S.C.C.), at para. 11, the Supreme Court of Canada dealt with the issue of the sufficiency of an information charging an offence under the Criminal Code:

”… the golden rule is for the accused to be reasonably informed of the transaction alleged against him, thus giving him the possibility of a full defence and a fair trial.”

[7] In my opinion, this golden rule is applicable to the issue of whether a certificate of offence is complete and regular on its face.

[8] In R. v. Wilson, [2001] O.J. No. 4907, (O.C.J.), at para. 20, Livingstone J. concluded that a certificate of offence which is “regular on its face,” must set out:

1. who is commencing the process – an informant;

2. who is charged under the process – name of the defendant;

3. what the process is – statute name and section number;

4. where and when the allegation arose; and

5. what the result will be from a conviction from the process – set fine.