Provincial Offences: Prosecution and Defense

Students will examine the role of the Provincial Offences Court in Ontario. With an understanding of the difference between criminal offences and provincial offences, students will examine the various matters that come before the Provincial Offences Court, including those under the Highway Traffic Act (common offences, procedural and substantive defences), Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act, Liquor Licence Act, Environmental Protection Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act, Trespass to Property Act, Blind Persons' Rights Act and municipal by-laws. Students will review disclosure requirements on the Crown, bail, the trial process and how the Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies in such proceedings, the principles of sentencing, and appeal rights.