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.
34816
Castonguay Blasting Ltd. v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Ontario as represented by the Minister of the Environment
(Ontario) (Criminal) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2013-10-22 | Appeal closed | |
| 2013-10-18 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2013-10-18 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2013-10-17 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ LeB Abe Ro Cro Ka Wa, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number C53611, 2012 ONCA 165, dated March 16, 2012, heard on May 17, 2013, is dismissed without costs. Dismissed, without costs |
|
| 2013-06-03 | Transcript received, (94 pages) | |
| 2013-05-17 | Judgment reserved OR rendered with reasons to follow | |
| 2013-05-17 | Intervener's condensed book, Submitted in Court (14 copies) | Canadian Environmental Law Association and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper |
| 2013-05-17 | Respondent's condensed book, Submitted in Court (14 copies) | Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Ontario as represented by the Minister of the Environment |
| 2013-05-17 | Appellant's condensed book, Submitted in Court (14 copies) | Castonguay Blasting Ltd. |
| 2013-05-17 | Acknowledgement and consent for video taping of proceedings, From all parties | |
| 2013-05-17 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2013-05-17, CJ LeB Abe Ro Cro Ka Wa Judgment reserved |
|
| 2013-05-15 | Correspondence received from, 2 reserved seats requested | Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Ontario as represented by the Minister of the Environment |
| 2013-05-09 | Correspondence received from, Jeffrey W. Beedell re: request for 6 reserved seats | Canadian Environmental Law Association and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper |
| 2013-05-03 | Supplemental document, Reply supplemental book of authorities, Completed on: 2013-05-03 | Castonguay Blasting Ltd. |
| 2013-05-03 | Reply factum on appeal, Pursuant to the order of Justice Cromwell dated March 6, 2013., Completed on: 2013-05-03 | Castonguay Blasting Ltd. |
| 2013-05-03 | Notice of appearance, Sara Blake, Paul McCulloch and Danielle Meuleman will be present at the hearing. | Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Ontario as represented by the Minister of the Environment |
| 2013-05-03 | Notice of appearance, Joseph F. Castrilli and Ramani Nadarajah will be present at the hearing. Mr. Castrilli will present oral submissions. | Canadian Environmental Law Association and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper |
| 2013-05-03 | Notice of appearance, Bruce McKeekin, Andrea Farkouh and Marie-France Major will be present at the hearing. Bruce McKeekin will present oral submissions. | Castonguay Blasting Ltd. |
| 2013-04-30 |
Order by, Cro, FURTHER TO THE ORDER dated March 6, 2013, granting leave to intervene to the Canadian Environmental Law Association and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper; IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED THAT the said intervener is granted permission to present oral argument not exceeding ten (10) minutes at the hearing of the appeal Granted |
|
| 2013-04-26 | Intervener's book of authorities, Completed on: 2013-04-26 | Canadian Environmental Law Association and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper |
| 2013-04-26 | Intervener's factum, Completed on: 2013-04-26 | Canadian Environmental Law Association and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper |
| 2013-04-25 | Correspondence received from, 5 reserved seats requested | Castonguay Blasting Ltd. |
| 2013-03-26 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2013-03-22 | Respondent's book of authorities, Completed on: 2013-03-22 | Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Ontario as represented by the Minister of the Environment |
| 2013-03-22 | Respondent's factum, Completed on: 2013-03-22 | Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Ontario as represented by the Minister of the Environment |
| 2013-03-13 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2013-03-07 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2013-05-17 Judgment reserved |
|
| 2013-03-06 | Order on motion for leave to intervene, (by CROMWELL J.) | |
| 2013-03-06 |
Decision on the motion for leave to intervene, Cro, UPON APPLICATION by the Canadian Environmental Law Association and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper 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 of the Canadian Environmental Law Association and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper is granted and the said intervener shall be entitled to serve and file a factum not to exceed 16 pages in length on or before May 1, 2013. The requests to present oral argument are deferred to a date following receipt and consideration of the written arguments of the parties and the intervener. 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 occasioned to the appellant and respondent by its intervention. AND IT IS HEREBY FURTHER ORDERED THAT the appellant may serve and file a reply factum not to exceed 10 pages in length to the factum of the intervener on or before May 6, 2013 Granted |
|
| 2013-03-06 | Submission of motion for leave to intervene, Cro | |
| 2013-02-26 | Reply to the motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-02-26 | Canadian Environmental Law Association and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper |
| 2013-02-20 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (Letter Form), from J. Bruce McMeekin dated Feb. 20/13, Completed on: 2013-02-20 | Castonguay Blasting Ltd. |
| 2013-02-14 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, email from Burke-Robertson dated Feb. 14/13, Completed on: 2013-02-14 | Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Ontario as represented by the Minister of the Environment |
| 2013-02-13 | Motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-02-13 | Canadian Environmental Law Association and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper |
| 2013-01-28 | Appellant's book of authorities, Completed on: 2013-01-28 | Castonguay Blasting Ltd. |
| 2013-01-28 | Appellant's record, Completed on: 2013-01-28 | Castonguay Blasting Ltd. |
| 2013-01-28 | Appellant's factum, Completed on: 2013-01-28 | Castonguay Blasting Ltd. |
| 2012-11-23 | Order on motion to state a constitutional question, (by the CHIEF JUSTICE) | |
| 2012-11-23 |
Decision on the motion to state a constitutional question, CJ, UPON APPLICATION by the appellant for an order stating constitutional questions in the above appeal; AND THE MATERIAL FILED having been read; The motion is dismissed Dismissed |
|
| 2012-11-23 | Submission of motion to state a constitutional question, CJ | |
| 2012-11-13 | Reply to the motion to state a constitutional question, (Book Form), Completed on: 2012-11-13 | Castonguay Blasting Ltd. |
| 2012-11-07 | Response to the motion to state a constitutional question, (Book Form), Completed on: 2012-11-07 | Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Ontario as represented by the Minister of the Environment |
| 2012-10-30 | Correspondence received from, Robert E. Houston, Q.C. dated Oct. 30/12 re will file a response to the motion to state CQ | Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Ontario as represented by the Minister of the Environment |
| 2012-10-29 | Motion to state a constitutional question, Completed on: 2012-10-29 | Castonguay Blasting Ltd. |
| 2012-10-03 | Notice of appeal, Completed on: 2012-10-03 | Castonguay Blasting Ltd. |
| 2012-09-28 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Leave granted) | |
| 2012-09-28 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2012-09-28 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2012-09-27 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number C53611, 2012 ONCA 165, dated March 16, 2012, is granted with costs in the cause. Granted, with costs in the cause |
|
| 2012-07-23 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, De F Ka | |
| 2012-06-15 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, Completed on: 2012-06-15 | Castonguay Blasting Ltd. |
| 2012-06-07 | Book of authorities | Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Ontario as represented by the Minister of the Environment |
| 2012-06-07 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2012-06-07 | Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Ontario as represented by the Minister of the Environment |
| 2012-05-10 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal | |
| 2012-05-09 | Application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2012-05-10 | Castonguay Blasting Ltd. |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Castonguay Blasting Ltd. | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Ontario as represented by the Minister of the Environment | Respondent | Active |
Other parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Environmental Law Association and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper | Intervener | Active |
Counsel
Party: Castonguay Blasting Ltd.
Counsel
Andrea Farkouh
600-60 Columbia Way
Markham, Ontario
L3R 0C9
Telephone: (905) 415-6791
FAX: (905) 415-6777
Email: bmcmeekin@millerthomson.com
Agent
397 Gladstone Avenue
Suite1
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0Y9
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: mfmajor@supremeadvocacy.ca
Party: Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Ontario as represented by the Minister of the Environment
Counsel
Paul McCulloch
Danielle Meuleman
720 Bay Street
8th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2K1
Telephone: (416) 326-4155
FAX: (416) 326-4181
Email: sara.blake@jus.gov.on.ca
Agent
441 MacLaren Street
Suite 200
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 2H3
Telephone: (613) 236-9665
FAX: (613) 235-4430
Email: rhouston@burkerobertson.com
Party: Canadian Environmental Law Association and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper
Counsel
Ramani Nadarajah
130 Spadina Avenue, Suite 301
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 2L4
Telephone: (416) 960-2284 Ext: 218
FAX: (416) 960-9392
Agent
50 O'Connor Street
Suite 300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L2
Telephone: (613) 232-7171 Ext: 122
FAX: (613) 231-3191
Email: jeff.beedell@mcmillan.ca
Summary
Keywords
None.
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.
Environmental law Offences Discharge of a contaminant causing adverse effect to natural environment Duty to notify Minister of the Environment In order for s. 15(1) of the Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E 19, to be engaged, is it necessary that the adverse effect include significant or non trivial harm (or its likelihood) to the natural environment, in addition to non trivial harm (or its likelihood) to an actual or likely use of the natural environment?
The appellant, Castonguay Blasting Ltd., was working as a subcontractor for a construction project commissioned by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario for the widening of a provincial highway, when one of its blasting operations went awry and rock fragments known as “fly rock” were released into the air by an explosion. The fly rock landed on and damaged a vehicle and a house on nearby private property, but no one was injured. The incident was reported to the Ministry of Labour and to the Ministry of Transportation, but not to the Ministry of the Environment, which only learned of it several months later. Castonguay Blasting was thus charged with failing to report the discharge of a contaminant into the natural environment contrary to s. 15(1) of the Environmental Protection Act. The trial judge dismissed the charges on the basis that there was no justification for concluding that ss. 14 and 15 of the Environmental Protection Act should apply in the circumstances and that the equities of the case lent no support to the justification for the prosecution. The Superior Court allowed the appeal and entered a conviction. The majority of the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.
Lower court rulings
Ontario Superior Court of Justice
CR-10-0029-AP, 2011 ONSC 471
See file
Court of Appeal for Ontario
C53611, 2012 ONCA 165
See file
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
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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.
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