Room 611: Friday, March 5. 2021

Today's classes are:

9:15 - 11:50 D Block Legal Studies

12:30 - 3:05 A Block Physical Geography

D Block Legal Studies - Today we'll go over property crimes (arson, theft, identity theft, B&E, possession of stolen goods and fraud). We'll go over the R. v. Foidart, 2005 case and examine what "colour of right" means.

Edwin Foidart was hired by a Winnipeg church to repair their existing pipe organ as part of a major restoration project. In order to do this, Foidart located and purchased a used organ for the church. He planned to use the parts to restore the church’s pipe organ. The used organ parts were temporarily stored in a garage on Foidart’s property. However, difficulties arose, and the church had to cancel the restoration project. As a result, Foidart was asked to return all the organ parts in his possession. Over time, church members discovered that not all the organ parts had been returned. Some of the parts were found in pipe organs belonging to other churches. The accused was eventually charged with theft over $5000. In his defence, Foidart argued that he had a colour of right to the pieces from the collection. However, he chose not to testify at his trial to this effect. The trial judge found Foidart guilty of theft, Since the judge had not heard from Foidart as to reasonable belief of colour of belief, he could not consider this defence in his decision. Foidart appealed to the Manitoba Court of Appeal. The issue before the court was whether the lack of evidence from the accused himself as to his belief in the ownership of the organ parts was fatal to his case. In a 3-0 decision, the court agreed with the initial trial judge and dismissed Foidart’s appeal.

We'll then look at the Controlled Drug and Substances Act in Canada. We'll examine the legal definition of a "drug" (with the LeDain Commission explanation) and discuss what depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens are. We'll examine schedules I - VIII in the act that prohibit and restrict substances (Opium Poppy, Coca, Amphetamines, Barbiturates, Anabolic Steroids, and a host of others that I can not spell or pronounce). You'll have four questions to complete:

1. What is the legal definition of a drug?
2. What are the elements of a charge for possession?
3. Describe two situations in which someone may be charged with possession while not physically possessing the drug.
4. What is "Intent to Possess"? Is intent necessary for a charge of possession?

The current government of Canada passed legislation to make cannabis legalization a reality in Canada on October 17, 2018. The revocation of Schedule II in the Controlled Drug and Substances Act [Repealed, 2018, c. 16, s. 204] includes:

A minimum age of 18 to buy marijuana, though provinces and territories will have the option of setting a higher age limit.
Allowing Canadians to grow four marijuana plants per household.
Licensing of producers, as well as ensuring the safety and security of the marijuana supply, will be a federal concern.
Provinces and territories will set the price for marijuana and decide how it is distributed and sold.

British Columbia’s minimum age to possess, purchase and consume cannabis is 19 years old, consistent with B.C.’s minimum age for alcohol and tobacco and with the age of majority in B.C. British Columbians of legal age can purchase non-medical cannabis through privately run retail stores or government-operated retail stores and online sales. In urban areas, licensed retailers will not be able to sell cannabis in the same stores as liquor or tobacco. Adults aged 19 and above, will be allowed to possess up to 30 grams of non-medical cannabis in a public place, which aligns with the federal government's proposed possession limit for adults. B.C. will generally allow adults to use non-medical cannabis in public spaces where tobacco smoking and vaping are permitted (except for areas frequented by children, including community beaches, parks and playgrounds). Also in BC there is:

A new 90-day Administrative Driving Prohibition (ADP) for any driver whom police reasonably believe operated a motor vehicle while affected by a drug or by a combination of a drug and alcohol, based on analysis of a bodily substance or an evaluation by a specially trained police drug recognition expert (DRE); and,
New drivers in the Graduated Licensing Program (GLP) will be subject to a zero-tolerance restriction for the presence of THC (the psycho active ingredient in cannabis).

Finally, we'll look at driving infractions. We'll find out what the Criminal Code says a "vehicle" is and what a public space is in relation to impaired driving, including the very important legal concept of "care or control". For more on the revised drinking and driving laws in BC check out the Road Rules blog.

Currently, it is a Criminal Code offence to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of over 0.08 (80 mg alcohol per 100 ml of blood). Every province, except Quebec, has introduced supplementary laws that allow police to impound vehicles, suspend licences and apply other administrative sanctions against drivers whose blood alcohol levels don’t quite reach the criminal threshold, but fall in the “warning” range of 0.05 to 0.08. In BC, under the 2010 amended BC Motor Vehicle Act, blowing over the blood alcohol level of .05 leads to an immediate—at the roadside—3-day loss of your driver’s licence, a $200 administrative penalty, a $250 licence reinstatement fee and, for repeat offenders, escalating consequences. There are two prohibited levels for THC, the primary psychoactive component of cannabis: it is a less serious offence to have between 2 nanograms (ng) and 5 ng of THC per ml of blood. It is a more serious offence to have 5 ng of THC or more per ml of blood. If it is your first offence, there is a mandatory minimum $1000 fine and maximum 10 years imprisonment.

Despite years of public messaging about the dangers of drinking and driving, Canada ranks No. 1 among 19 wealthy countries for percentage of roadway deaths linked to alcohol impairment.

CC 253 (1) Every one commits an offence who operates a motor vehicle or vessel or operates or assists in the operation of an aircraft or of railway equipment or has the care or control of a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft or railway equipment, whether it is in motion or not,

(a) while the person’s ability to operate the vehicle, vessel, aircraft or railway equipment is impaired by alcohol or a drug; or

(b) having consumed alcohol in such a quantity that the concentration in the person’s blood exceeds eighty milligrams of alcohol in one hundred millilitres of blood.

CC 255 (1) Every one who commits an offence under section 253 or 254 is guilty of an indictable offence or an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable,

(a) whether the offence is prosecuted by indictment or punishable on summary conviction, to the following minimum punishment, namely,

(i) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $1,000,
(ii) for a second offence, to imprisonment for not less than 30 days, and
(iii) for each subsequent offence, to imprisonment for not less than 120 days;
(b) where the offence is prosecuted by indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years; and
(c) if the offence is punishable on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term of not more than 18 months.

Impaired driving causing bodily harm

(2) Everyone who commits an offence under paragraph 253(1)(a) and causes bodily harm to another person as a result is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years.

Impaired driving causing death

(3) Everyone who commits an offence under paragraph 253(1)(a) and causes the death of another person as a result is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for life.

We'll look at Fines and points for B.C. traffic offences as well as the Driver Penalty Point premium in BC.

Drug Impaired Driving Canada
Impaired Driving Laws
Drug Recognition Expert Evaluations
Impaired driving investigations

I'll have you work on the following:

ARSON OR ACCIDENT?
Jack and his friend Marcus want to roast hot dogs in Jack’s backyard. They dig a fire pit and start a small fire to cook their food. After they eat the hot dogs, they decide that they want to roast marshmallows. Jack goes into the house to find the marshmallows. While Jack is gone, Marcus decides that they need some music so he walks around to the front of the house to get his CDs from the car. While the boys are not attending the fire, the flames grow bigger. A wind blows an ember onto the neighbour’s property and ignites a pile of towels lying on the neighbour’s deck. Unfortunately, nobody saw the fire start and the neighbours are not home. Within a few minutes, the fire in the neighbour’s yard has spread to their house. Soon after that, Jack and Marcus see the flames and call the fire department. The fire department is able to put out the fire, but the neighbour’s property has sustained damage of about $5000.

1. Who is responsible for causing the fire?
2. Should the charge of arson be laid against Jack and/or Marcus?

A Block Physical Geography - Today we'll look at Mass Wasting (falls, slides, and flows). We will figure out the causes of Mass Wasting by looking at both the driving and resisting forces on hillsides and slopes. We will try to figure out some slope stabilization practices and specifically we'll look at what has been done at Goose Spit to stop erosion of the Willemar Bluffs along Balmoral Beach. We'll also review the problems of the Sea to Sky highway (Hwy 99 from West Vancouver to Squamish), The Trans-Canada through the Rockies (Highway 1) and we'll review the Oso Washington slide from March 2014 as well as the 2019 Joffre Peak landslides. We'll also look at three types of snow avalanches (loose, wet, and slab). We'll understand where they occur, why they happen and figure out the physics of snow mass movement.