R. v. Singh Date:, 2016 BCPC 120

Citation: R. v. Singh Date: 20160426 2016 BCPC 0120 File No: 98133-1 Registry: Kamloops IN THE PROVINCIAL COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA REGINA v. KULWINDER SINGH REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE HONOURABLE JUDGE S.D. FRAME Counsel for the Crown: Ms. Monica Fras Counsel for the Defendant: Mr. Kenneth Tessovitch Place of Hearing: Kamloops , B.C. Date of Hearing: February 17, February 18, March 23, and March 24, 2016 Date of Judgment: April 26, 2016

[ 1 ] Kulwinder Singh is charged with assault causing bodily harm to Alannah Canaday on May 18, 2014. [ 2 ] Ms. Canaday is a 24 year old wood finisher who, at the time of the incident, lived in Barriere, British Columbia. She now resides in Kamloops. She is 5’3” and weighs 120 pounds. [ 3 ] Ms. Canaday knows Mr. Singh, whom she met when she was working in a bar in Barriere in 2012 or 2013. He was with people she worked for at the time. That is the extent of her relationship with him. She spent a few social occasions with him.

She recalls one time in Kamloops and one in Barriere. [ 4 ] The occasion in Barriere was after work when she, her friend Amanda, Mr. Singh, and “Suni” Sandeep Mahal went to a house party. She reported there were quite a few people there and is pretty sure that was in the winter. It was before the incident. [ 5 ] The second occasion that she recalls was in Kamloops on Halloween 2013. She was in Kamloops with Amanda, Mr. Singh and Mr. Mahal. They met at Cactus Jack’s and then proceeded to the Hotel 540 afterword. They were in a hotel room taken by Mr. Singh and Mr. Mahal. Everyone was “too drunk”. Ms.

Canaday says that she does not know what she did wrong but she may have made a comment. She said everyone was spilling drinks and “ruining the place”. The drinks had cranberry juice and the blankets were white. Mr. Singh was spilling and Ms. Canaday mentioned that she thought he had enough to drink. She said this to Mr. Mahal. They were all sitting in a circle. Mr. Singh backhanded her across the face. Ms. Canaday got up and ran out. Mr. Singh tried to apologize but Ms. Canaday was not interested in the apology. It is not this incident with which Mr. Singh is charged. [ 6 ] Ms.

Canaday returned to the room approximately five minutes later to gather her belongings and leave with her friend Amanda. Once she was back in the room, she said Mr. Singh was angry again. He pushed her onto the bed and was about to punch her when Mr. Mahal grabbed his arm. She and Amanda left at that point. Ms. Canaday had called her boyfriend, Andre Grant, to pick her up. She told him what happened. She continues to be in a relationship with Mr. Grant today. [ 7 ] Mr. Singh testified that he had been at the Hotel 540 with his friend, Mr. Mahal. He knew Ms. Canaday and her friend, Amanda.

After leaving Cactus Jack’s, they proceeded to Mr. Mahal’s room at Hotel 540. Mr. Singh felt his level of intoxication that evening was about a 6. In fact, the witnesses continuously referred to a scale of 1 to 10 for intoxication without ever describing what each of those levels referred to. In any event, a 6 would have to be at least better than half way drunk. [ 8 ] Mr. Singh said that from time to time Ms. Canaday would hit his arm for fun and laugh. This continued while they were in the hotel. While they were playing a game, she would hit his arm in the same humorous way and he would hit her back in the arm.

There was nothing serious in it. However, she then hit his face. He got a little angry and hit her face. She became angry and tried to leave the room. He tried to stop her, but she was angry and would not return. [ 9 ] The two versions of what transpired at the Hotel 540 are as disparate as the two versions of the events that bring the parties to court on these charges. It is not my role to determine who is right about what happened in the hotel. I recite the two versions as background to the nature of the relationship leading to the events in the case before me. I also note that Mr.

Singh’s testimony in regard to this incident had a significant ring of truth to it that his testimony in regard to the incident before me lacked. [ 10 ] Ms. Canaday did not see Mr. Singh again until May 18, 2014. Ms. Canaday was at Mr. Grant’s home and had been consuming an alcoholic beverage called a Twisted Tea while she was getting ready to go out with Amanda. She believes she had about three. [ 11 ] Once at Cactus Jack’s, Ms. Canaday was drinking vodka cran 7s, an alcoholic beverage containing vodka, cranberry juice and 7-up. She did not use any drugs. She was dancing while Mr.

Grant was off to the side talking to friends. [ 12 ] While dancing, Ms. Canaday encountered Mr. Mahal and Mr. Singh. Mr. Mahal was trying to get her and Amanda to leave with him. Ms. Canaday believed that she may have had an argument with Mr. Singh but does not know what was said. She recalls they were yelling at each other. Given Mr. Singh’s evidence in this regard, I expect that Ms. Canaday was yelling at Mr. Singh but he did not engage with her at this point. Ms. Canaday saw one of Mr. Grant’s friends, named Teddy. She told Teddy that they were being bothered by the two men.

Teddy came back and told her she was not going to be bothered for the rest of the night. [ 13 ] Ms. Canaday believes that through the entire evening she had about six drinks. At the point that she was arguing with Mr. Singh, she believed she was about a five on the scale of intoxication, whatever that may mean. She did not notice if Mr. Mahal or Mr. Singh were drinking beverage drinks. [ 14 ] Ms. Canaday and her friends left the bar at 1:30 when it was closing. She does not believe she was intoxicated at that point. The lights were on and they were getting ready to leave.

There was an argument between her, Amanda and Mr. Singh. She does not know what it was about or who started the conversation. She just remembered swearing. She said the argument escalated to yelling and swearing. Mr. Mahal was not there. Ms. Canaday said it “got too crazy” and so she and Amanda left. They left Mr. Grant behind because he was still talking to a friend. He had not been looking in their direction during the course of the argument. [ 15 ] Once outside, Ms. Canaday said she crossed the street to the parking lot at the Hotel 540.

She cannot remember why she went there but said it was very crowded outside the bar. She said there were maybe 40 or 50 people present so she crossed the street. On cross examination, Ms. Canaday explained she was running because everyone was “freaking out and it was that kind of situation”. However, she said she was not really freaking out. [ 16 ] Michael Hennings-Helliwell is a security manager at Cactus Jack’s.

At the end of his shift, he went outside as per his usual practice to ensure that the crowd dispersed quickly at closing time. [ 17 ] He said his first encounter with the two groups involved in this event was at closing on the sidewalk by the side exits. He said he saw the two groups of people arguing. He and another bouncer broke them up and sent them separate ways. This accords somewhat

with Ms. Canaday’s evidence regarding the argument at closing. [ 18 ] Mr. Hennings-Helliwell knows Ms. Canaday now through the bar and knew her boyfriend then, who is a regular. Though Ms. Canaday had described Mr. Hennings-Helliwell as a friend of Mr. Grant, Mr. Hennings-Helliwell said he has no relationship with Mr. Grant outside of his position at Cactus Jack’s. He had not met Ms. Canaday before that night. Mr. Hennings-Helliwell did not know Mr. Singh and only knows his name because they have a swipe identification system at Cactus Jack’s. [ 19 ] Mr. Hennings-Helliwell said Ms. Canaday was talking to Mr.

Singh. She appeared to Mr. Hennings-Helliwell to be intoxicated. Mr. Singh got upset and clenched his fists. Mr. Hennings-Helliwell said Ms. Canaday calmed down right away and went across the street. However, Mr. Hennings-Helliwell said on cross examination that he did not see her walk across the street or see her standing in the parking lot behind Hotel 540. [ 20 ] Mr. Grant said he had not seen Mr. Singh all night until they were leaving at closing time. As they were leaving, he saw “a couple of guys” standing in a corner. One of them was pointing at Ms. Canaday. Mr. Grant dragged Ms.

Canaday outside and she told him it was the person who had struck her in the face previously. Mr. Singh came out and Mr. Grant walked up to him to “have a word”. He described Mr. Singh as already drunk and unable to stand up fully straight. It had been Mr. Grant’s purported intention to get Mr. Singh’s friendship with Ms. Canaday back in line but Mr. Singh did not want to talk. As far as Mr. Grant was concerned, the matter ended. [ 21 ] Ranjit (Ron) Lalli works security at Cactus Jack’s. He was one of the bouncers on duty outside at closing. He noticed a male and female arguing outside the front left doors.

He could tell that the people were angry because they were shouting. He went over with another security person (Mr. Hennings-Helliwell). The male’s friends took him away. Mr. Lalli described them as physically restraining him. He saw the female cross the road to the casino parking lot. When he looked back, the male was in the Thompson Park area but he could not see the female any longer. He saw no physical contact between the male and female. He was able to identify Ms. Canaday and Mr. Singh in court. [ 22 ] Ms. Canaday stood in the parking lot for a while waiting for Mr. Grant.

She noticed an argument start in front of the doors between Mr. Grant and Mr. Singh. She could not really see or hear anything. However, she believed they were having an argument because they were separated by the bouncers. This seems to be the tail end of the altercation she had with Mr. Singh while exiting Cactus Jack’s. She could see Mr. Grant talking to a security guard with Teddy. Mr. Singh was taken across Lansdowne by Mr. Mahal and two other men who were with him. Ms. Canaday observed that they were still yelling and arguing.

She could not hear what was said but could hear voices raised. [ 23 ] For reasons that defy logic, Ms. Canaday decided to go talk to Mr. Singh because he was still yelling. She felt like she was the reason for all the yelling so she wanted to make it stop. She assumed Mr. Singh was yelling at Mr. Grant because that was the direction Mr. Singh was looking. [ 24 ] Ms. Canaday ran down the street and crossed Lansdowne toward Mr. Singh. She said a car was turning and she was almost hit by it. She waited and then crossed. She pointed at Mr. Singh and said “hey”. She was not close to him when she pointed. [ 25 ] Mr.

Lalli saw Ms Canaday cross the street on the diagonal. She was already through the intersection when he saw her. He did not recall seeing the vehicle that nearly struck her. [ 26 ] During cross examination, Ms. Canaday was put to the task of describing with great particularity the details she could not have remembered if she was impaired. Her recall lends reliability to her testimony. [ 27 ] Mr. Singh stepped toward her, grabbed her around the throat and punched her. The hand that grabbed her throat did not apply much pressure and she was still able to breathe.

The punch was to her left eyebrow, closer to her ear. She said it was with a lot of force that spun her around and she fell over. She fell to the road, striking her face. [ 28 ] It was suggested to Ms. Canaday on cross examination that she tripped and fell into the brick sign feature at the Lansdowne Mall. Ms. Canaday denied this. Mr. Hennings-Helliwell also denied that she fell into this feature. While Mr. Hennings-Helliwell said that he saw her fall toward the brick footing, she was not at it. She fell on the cement. [ 29 ] Mr. Lalli said that Mr.

Singh and his group had initially crossed the street to the Lansdowne Mall sign. They then moved to the right into the road next to the sign. This was before Ms. Canaday crossed the street. It was in this location that Mr. Lalli saw Ms. Canaday confront Mr. Singh. He said she seemed agitated because she was talking aggressively with her hands. She was close to Mr. Singh. Mr. Singh grabbed Ms. Canaday with one hand and struck her with the other somewhere on her face. Mr. Lalli said Ms. Canaday dropped right away. He and Mr. Hennings-Helliwell were already on the way to the site. When they got there, they took Mr.

Singh to the ground and held him there until the police showed up. [ 30 ] Mr. Lalli said that when Ms. Canaday was speaking with her hands, it seemed like Mr. Singh was trying to deflect the hands as though they were too close to him for his liking. He saw Mr. Singh reach forward and strike Ms. Canaday somewhere in her face area but cannot be certain where. Mr. Lalli said Mr. Singh was compliant and said nothing when they had him on the ground. [ 31 ] Mr. Lalli said that when Ms. Canaday went down, she went down pretty close to underneath where the stop light was.

He said she did not strike her face on the rock wall. [ 32 ] Mr. Grant said that when Ms. Canaday fell, she turned around to break her fall. She did not get her hands up in time. He said that she did not fall toward the wall but into the road. He denied that she tripped on the curb wall, asserting that she was punched and fell off. [ 33 ] Ms. Canaday said that she was wearing two inch heels which she usually wears when going out and is comfortable walking in them. She said both feet were on the ground when she pointed at Mr. Singh. She lost her balance because he punched her.

[ 34 ] Mr. Hennings-Helliwell’ attention was drawn to the Lansdowne location by a co-worker (Mr. Lalli) who was trying to disperse the crowd in the street. Mr. Hennings-Helliwell looked over and saw Mr. Singh push Ms. Canaday. She pushed him back and Mr. Singh punched her. Mr. Hennings-Helliwell rushed over to grab Mr. Singh. He and his co-worker held Mr. Singh down until the police arrived. [ 35 ] Mr. Grant did not see anything until the moment that Ms. Canaday was punched. As he turned, he saw Mr. Singh punch Ms. Canaday in the right side of her face. He ran down and shoved Mr. Singh off of Ms. Canaday. Ms.

Canaday was on the ground face down. [ 36 ] Ms. Canaday said everyone came running. Amanda and Teddy were yelling at her to say something. They picked her up. A security guard attended. The fire truck, ambulance and police all came. Mr. Grant said that he kicked and punched Mr. Singh a couple of times. This is consistent with the injuries to Mr. Singh’s face. Then the bouncer came and threw Mr. Singh to the ground. He was held there by the bouncers, which is also consistent with the injuries to his face. [ 37 ] Satinder Gill was present at Cactus Jack’s on this night.

He had gone there with a friend between 11:30 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. He saw Mr. Singh a couple of times in the club but was not there with him. Mr. Singh was with Mr. Gill’s roommate. Mr. Gill asked that roommate, Shubham Bhambri for a ride home. Mr. Gill said that he had one beer and three vodka in the time he was in the club. He described himself as tipsy, but not very drunk. [ 38 ] When he left the club, he saw some African guys (who were variously described by others as Jamaican guys) who were trying to create a fight scene in front of the club. Mr. Bhambri was trying to separate them and they were pushing Mr.

Singh. [ 39 ] Once everyone was separated, Mr. Gill began to walk with Mr. Bhambri and Mr. Singh. He believes there may have been one other person, a Mr. Mahal. [ 40 ] When they left the bar, the group walked across the street to the Lansdowne Mall. Mr. Gill saw a woman running from the other side of the road opposite Cactus Jack’s. She was screaming and running toward them but he cannot recall what she was screaming. Mr. Gill pointed her out to Mr. Singh and Mr. Mahal. Mr. Singh turned toward her as Mr. Gill was looking at the “black guys coming toward her”.

Everyone started fighting and then some bouncers came and grabbed Mr. Singh. [ 41 ] Mr. Gill said that when the woman was running, she lost her balance. He does not really remember what happened. She had been acting like she was about to punch Mr. Singh but Mr. Gill does not recall if that happened. He did not see what happened between her and Mr. Singh. He was standing with them but looking at the black males because he was afraid they were going to cause a fight. Despite not having seen what happened between Mr. Singh and Ms. Canaday, Mr. Gill said that Mr.

Singh did not strike her. [ 42 ] I will pause here to say that I do not believe Mr. Gill. He was either too intoxicated or too indifferent to pay attention to anything that was happening. His version of events does not accord with anyone else. He went back and forth in his testimony - bearing in mind that there was some language barrier - between whether or not he and Mr. Singh were on the sidewalk when Ms. Canaday approached them. He thinks she fell on the road but does not know for sure. He does not remember her feet going on the sidewalk.

She was acting like she lost her balance, yet he was not paying any attention to her or Mr. Singh, but to the other males approaching. His evidence is almost entirely unreliable. [ 43 ] Mr. Singh testified that he went to Cactus Jack’s around 12:30 a.m. He was with Mr. Mahal and Mr. Bhambri. He had not been drinking before he went to Cactus Jack’s. Upon arriving, they all had a beer. Mr. Bhambri then stopped drinking because he was the designated driver. Mr. Mahal and Mr. Singh continued drinking. Over the course of the next 1 ½ hours, Mr. Singh said he drank three beer and two shots of tequila. [ 44 ] While Mr.

Singh was dancing he looked over and saw Ms. Canaday. She started pointing at him. She said something to her boyfriend. Her boyfriend came to Mr. Singh and said that he wanted to talk about the rift between Mr. Singh and Ms. Canaday. He spoke nicely. Mr. Singh told him he had no problem and wanted no trouble. He then went out for a cigarette with Mr. Bhambri. He denied that he and Ms. Canaday were yelling at each other on the dance floor. [ 45 ] It is clear that Mr. Grant and Ms. Canaday were not dancing. Mr. Singh may well have confused the gentleman who spoke with him as Mr. Grant.

It was more likely he is recalling the friend “Teddy”. Mr. Grant did approach Mr. Singh later to try to get the friendship back on track and this may also be the conversation Mr. Singh is recalling. He described Mr. Grant as friendly which accords with Mr. Grant’s description of the conversation. [ 46 ] When he returned from his cigarette, Teddy and another bouncer and another person asked him if he had an issue with Ms. Canaday. He said he did not have any problem with her.

Nothing else happened while they were in Cactus Jack’s. [ 47 ] When the lights were on for closing, everyone was walking out of Cactus Jack’s. Mr. Singh was with his two friends. When they exited, Mr. Hennings-Helliwell, three Jamaican people and Ms. Canaday were to the right. Mr. Singh did not look at them but turned toward Lansdowne and began walking. Teddy stopped Mr. Singh and started pushing him. Mr. Bhambri came between them and Mr. Singh continued walking. Mr. Singh saw those men and Ms. Canaday walk to the Hotel 540 parking lot as he went down to the Lansdowne Mall. [ 48 ] Once he crossed the road, Mr.

Singh reached the wall and was facing the sign. He heard someone yelling behind him. He turned and saw it was Ms. Canaday. He said she was coming from the Hotel 540 side of the street and was running at him on a diagonal. He said she was swearing and running. She punched him but not all that hard. She bumped into something and fell into the wall. The three guys she had been with were running behind her when she was running at Mr. Singh. [ 49 ] Mr. Singh said everything happened very fast. When she fell, Mr. Grant pushed him. He was pushed to the ground but someone had a knee on his head.

He ended up with marks on his face from this.

[ 50 ] Mr. Bhambri tried to tell the police who were arresting Mr. Singh that Mr. Singh had not punched anyone. He was trying to assist by giving his identification and a statement. [ 51 ] Mr. Bhambri testified that nothing happened while they were in the club. On the way out, some African guys confronted them. There were four or five of them and they were pushing Mr. Bhambri and Mr. Singh. He and Mr. Singh walked away from the confrontation because they were trying to avoid it. [ 52 ] The two of them walked across the road to the Lansdowne parking lot. Nothing happened on the way over.

Once across the road, he saw Ms. Canaday running toward them. He heard screaming and turned back, and saw her running. Mr. Bhambri said they were on the foot path at that point which we established in the course of the evidence meant the sidewalk. Mr. Bhambri testified that he and Mr. Singh were the only ones there. Ms. Canaday was running and she swung a punch at Mr. Singh. Mr. Bhambri is not sure if it connected. It was at this point that she tripped and hit herself on the wall. I do not believe Messrs. Singh and Bhambri on this point. Two sober, independent witnesses saw Ms. Canaday approach Mr. Singh.

There was some pushing and then Mr. Singh struck Ms. Canaday. She did not punch him. The photographs taken of Ms. Canaday show an injury above her eye on the side of her face, a broken tooth and a bloody mouth. It tortures logic and credulity to say this happened as a result of her falling and striking her face on the wall partly on the side of her head and partly on the front of her face. Common sense and basic logic dictate the injuries are consistent with a punch to the side of her face, a fall, and an injury to her mouth from that fall. I find that Mr. Bhambri and Mr.

Singh contrived the evidence of this fall into the wall. [ 53 ] At this point the African males came and put Mr. Singh down to the ground. Then the bouncers came. Finally, when the police came, Mr. Bhambri tried to talk to them but Mr. Lalli pushed him away. [ 54 ] Mr. Singh produced photographs to show that his hands were not marked. This neither proves nor disproves the punch. The most significant damage done to Ms. Canaday’s face was done when her face struck the road. [ 55 ] Mr. Bhambri agreed that Ms. Canaday was not present during the altercation immediately outside Cactus Jack’s.

In fact, he did not know where she was before she came running toward Mr. Singh at Lansdowne. Mr. Bhambri pointed to the spot in front of the sign that Mr. Singh said they were standing in front of as the spot where Ms. Canaday ran and then tripped and fell. [ 56 ] Constable Eccleston happened to be in the neighbourhood when he saw a large crowd at the entrance to Lansdowne Mall. There was a group of 20 or more people yelling and screaming. They beckoned him over. Constable Eccleston stopped at the entrance to the mall with all of the people involved on his left.

They were on the sidewalk and on the road. [ 57 ] Constable Eccleston observed a bouncer holding Mr. Singh down to the ground. He saw the victim with blood all over her face. He instructed the bouncer to let Mr. Singh go. He arrested Mr. Singh for assault. He noted Mr. Singh was very intoxicated when he picked him up. His friends were also very intoxicated and yelling at Constable Eccleston. [ 58 ] Constable Eccleston observed that Mr. Singh’s eyes were red and he had the odour of liquor on his breath, as well as a bit of blood from his nose. Mr.

Singh’s level of intoxication was more evident to Constable Eccleston once they were at cells. He was off balance. He could walk but could not stand on his own without swaying. He had also left a strong odour of liquor in the car, which was still present in cells. Mr. Singh was not released until 3:00 a.m. He was too drunk to be released and his friends were too drunk to take care of him. Constable Eccleston did recall some marks on Mr. Singh’s face. [ 59 ] Ms. Canaday’s injuries included a cut to her eyebrow, a broken tooth which went through her chin, and a cut to her chin.

She received approximately seven stitches for the cut to her chin. She subsequently had to have a root canal and then replace the tooth that was broken. [ 60 ] I found Ms. Canaday to be a credible witness. Despite the alcohol she evidently consumed that night, she has a clear and largely unchallenged recollection. She readily admitted where her recollection failed her. Where there were inconsistencies between her statement given to the police and her testimony in court, she explained quite logically and persuasively that her statement given to the police was made at a time when she was frantic from the incident.

She could not talk properly and ultimately had to redo her statement. [ 61 ] There were varying descriptions respecting Ms. Canaday’s level of intoxication. Prior to arriving at Cactus Jack’s, Ms. Canaday had consumed three Twisted Tea alcoholic beverages. She also had three vodka beverages at Cactus Jack’s. She did not believe she was intoxicated when the bar closed at 1:30. She consumed those three beverages in the two and half hours she had been at the bar on top of the three Twisted Teas she had previously. Mr. Hennings-Helliwell described Ms. Canaday as intoxicated at the point he saw her arguing with Mr.

Singh outside of the doors. He clarified this to say that Ms. Canaday was tipsy but not overly intoxicated. She had been tipsy when she came in as well. [ 62 ] Mr. Lalli thought that Ms. Canaday was impaired. He said she seemed more angry and confrontational than impaired, although he agreed these behaviours could be found in connection with impairment. [ 63 ] Mr. Gill pronounced Ms. Canaday drunk and clarified this to say that everyone was drunk so he imagined that she was drunk or might be drunk. He was himself tipsy but not drunk. This was despite having four or five drinks in about two hours.

As he continued on, Mr. Gill confirmed that he did not know how she was feeling but if he saw someone doing something stupid he would say they were drunk. Consequently, he is not sure if she was drunk or not. She seemed drunk to him. His testimony, as I said previously, is unreliable. [ 64 ] Mr. Singh described his own level of intoxication as about five. The alcohol was affecting him but he knew what was going on around him. He could not say how the alcohol was affecting him because he could not remember how it affected him. This evidence was nonsensical. [ 65 ] Mr.

Hennings-Helliwell testified that once he had Mr. Singh pinned to the ground, Mr. Singh was talking to him and his speech was slurred.

[ 66 ] Mr. Grant testified that when he approached Mr. Singh to speak with him about his relationship with Ms. Canaday, Mr. Singh could not stand up fully straight. Mr. Grant said that although he was less than a foot from Mr. Singh when he was talking to him, the club was very loud. However, Mr. Grant could smell the alcohol on Mr. Singh. [ 67 ] Constable Eccleston described Mr. Singh as very intoxicated when he picked him up. He also described Mr. Singh’s friends as very intoxicated, although he was less certain about who was friends with Mr. Singh and who was not. He could smell the odour of liquor on Mr.

Singh’s breath when Mr. Singh protested he had not assaulted anyone. He noted Mr. Singh’s eyes were red and he had trouble standing on his own. Constable Eccleston could tell that Mr. Singh was off balance. His level of intoxication became more evident once he was lodged in cells. He was too drunk to be released to his friends and his friends were too drunk to receive him. Evidently Mr. Bhambri was not impaired but it is uncertain whether he made any further efforts to assist Mr. Singh after Mr. Lalli turned him away. It appears not. [ 68 ] Mr. Lalli also noted that Mr.

Singh’s speech was slurred, though he cannot remember what Mr. Singh would have been saying to him when he noted this. [ 69 ] Mr. Bhambri described Mr. Singh as drunk. However, he claimed Mr. Singh had no trouble walking. [ 70 ] Of the people who had been drinking alcohol that night, Mr. Bhambri and Mr. Gill were the least impaired. Ms. Canaday exhibited some signs of impairment but not sufficient to concern Mr. Hennings-Helliwell and Mr.

Lalli that she was intoxicated. [ 71 ] The remaining patrons of Cactus Jack’s who were involved in this altercation consumed prodigious amounts of alcohol in a short period of time casting the reliability of their evidence into serious doubt. This is clearly exhibited in the varying versions of their evidence. [ 72 ] I accept that Mr. Hennings-Helliwell and Mr. Lalli were able to see what had transpired despite the hundreds of people who were milling about the streets, the rain and the darkness of the night. In fact, all witnesses testified that they had seen various parts of the events as they unfolded.

Obviously, the distance and other factors normally impacting visibility were not impairing the witnesses. There was some suggestion that Mr. Hennings-Helliwell and Mr. Lalli may have been friends with Mr. Grant and therefore biased. Mr. Lalli had no knowledge of any of the people involved other than as a bouncer at a club they patronized. Mr. Hennings-Helliwell had a friendly relationship with Mr. Grant, who was somewhat of a regular at Cactus Jack’s, but their relationship extended no further. I find that they were not compelled by any personal bias in favour of Ms.

Canaday, whom neither of them knew. [ 73 ] The most reliable and credible evidence before me is that of Mr. Hennings-Helliwell and Mr. Lalli. Though they had different perspectives on some of the facts, neither of them claimed to have seen or heard everything that transpired between the two groups of people. What they both saw quite clearly was Mr. Singh punching Ms. Canaday in the face and knocking her to the ground. Their attention had been drawn to the two groups of friends because of the conflict that arose at closing. As part of their duties, they had remained watchful while continuing to disperse the crowd.

As a result of their vigilance, I accept that they saw what transpired and reported it accurately. [ 74 ] I am satisfied on the evidence that Ms. Canaday ran toward Mr. Singh to confront him about the incident that was ongoing between him and Mr. Grant. She had her arm raised as she described pointing at him and yelling “hey”. As Mr. Lalli described, her arms were flailing as she spoke. There was a pushing match started by Mr. Singh. When Ms. Canaday pushed him back, he grabbed her and punched her, knocking her to the ground. [ 75 ] I am satisfied that the Crown has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr.

Singh assaulted Ms. Canaday and caused bodily harm to her contrary to s. 267 (

b) of the Criminal Code . I convict Mr. Singh of that charge. _______________________________ S.D. Frame Provincial Court Judge