TORONTO: The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) is pleased with the release of the Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Ontario (AG) v Norwood Estate, released today. The case considered the limits of the Ontario Civil Remedies Act, the legislation that governs the seizure and forfeiture of assets suspected and determined to be tainted by crime. The CCF intervened in the case.
In this case, the government had argued for a vast expansion of the scope of civil forfeiture laws. The government had argued for an interpretation of the act that would have allowed them to enter into settlements with third parties before the assets had been determined to be tainted by crime. The court rejected this interpretation, going so far as to call it absurd.
“This case shows how far the government is willing to go to expand their power to seize private property,” said CCF Litigation Director, Christine Van Geyn. “The government argued that this legislation allows them to give away seized assets before there is any determination that those assets had been touched by crime. This incorrect interpretation of the law is a broad and vast expansion of their power. We are pleased that the Court of Appeal has created a clear limit on how this law can be used,” continued Van Geyn.
“We were pleased to represent the CCF as intervenors in this important case, and applaud this result which sets clear limits on government power to dispense with private property” said Jessica L. Kuredjian. The CCF was represented at the Court of Appeal by Ms. Kuredjian and Robert Sniderman of Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP.
A copy of the decision is available here.
