2022 QCCA 965, 2022 QCCA 965

Coles c. Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions 2022 QCCA 965 COURT OF APPEAL CANADA PROVINCE OF QUEBEC REGISTRY OF MONTREAL No.: 500-10-007815-226 ( 500-61-535339-213 ) MINUTES OF HEARING DATE: July 6, 2022 CORAM: THE HONOURABLE MARIE-JOSÉE HOGUE, J.A. FRÉDÉRIC BACHAND, J.A. PETER KALICHMAN, J.A.

APPELLANT john david coles ABSENT AND Unrepresented RESPONDENT COUNSEL DIRECTOR OF CRIMINAL AND PENAL PROSECUTIONS Mtre françois russo Mtre SIMON LAVOIE ( Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions ) Absent On appeal from a judgment rendered on April 26, 2022 by the Honourable Pierre-David Cyr of the Court of Quebec, Criminal Division , District of Montreal . NATURE OF THE APPEAL: Application to dismiss an appeal (Article 365 C.C.P. ). Clerk at the hearing : Lesly Ramos Courtroom: Pierre-Basile-Mignault HEARING

9:38 Commencement of the hearing. Continuation of the hearing held on July 5 th , 2022. The parties were excused from appearing in Court. BY THE COURT: Judgment – see page 3. Conclusion of the hearing Lesly Ramos, Clerk at the hearing JUDGMENT [ 1 ] On April 26, 2022, the Appellant, John David Coles, was convicted in the Court of Quebec (the Honourable Pierre-David Cyr) of violating section 123 (8) of the Public Health Act . More specifically, he was found to have breached the Covid-19 curfew.

He filed a notice of appeal citing errors of law and palpable and overriding errors of fact. [ 2 ] The Respondent, the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions, seeks to dismiss the appeal on the basis that it was improperly initiated. More specifically, the DCPP argues that an appeal from a decision of the Court of Quebec in a statutory matter must be brought before the Superior Court. It adds that the Court’s jurisdiction in such matters is limited to appeals from judgments rendered in appeal by the Superior Court. [ 3 ] The DCPP is correct. [ 4 ] Any appeal from Mr.

Cole’s conviction must be brought before the Superior Court (article 270 of the Code of Penal Procedure) . The fact that Mr. Coles has concerns regarding the Superior Court’s ability to hear his appeal, including his view that it is backlogged and that it is too intimately related to the Court of Quebec to be impartial, do not change the fact that this Court has no jurisdiction to hear his appeal (article 291 of the Code of Penal Procedure ). [ 5 ] Consequently, without commenting on the merits of the grounds raised by Mr. Cole, his appeal must be dismissed (article 365 of the Code of Civil Procedure ,

article 75 of the Regulation of the Court of Appeal of Quebec in penal matters ). FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT: [ 6 ] GRANTS the Application to dismiss and appeal; [ 7 ] DISMISSES the appeal of the Appellant, with legal costs. MARIE-JOSÉE HOGUE, J.A. FRÉDÉRIC BACHAND, J.A.

PETER KALICHMAN, J.A.