Collis v. Toronto Police Services Board et al., (2007) 228 O.A.C. 333 (DC)

JudgeSwinton, J.
CourtSuperior Court of Justice of Ontario (Canada)
Case DateMay 25, 2007
JurisdictionOntario
Citations(2007), 228 O.A.C. 333 (DC)

Collis v. Police Services Bd. (2007), 228 O.A.C. 333 (DC)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2007] O.A.C. TBEd. SE.065

Susan Collis (plaintiff/respondent) v. Toronto Police Services Board, Detective Steve Irwin, Detective Mark Price and Durham Regional Police Services Board (defendants/appellants)

(555/04; 556/04)

Indexed As: Collis v. Toronto Police Services Board et al.

Court of Ontario

Superior Court of Justice

Divisional Court

Swinton, J.

September 5, 2007.

Summary:

Collis was an organizer employed by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP). On June 12, 2001, she was arrested following a demonstration organized by OCAP in Whitby. She was charged with several offences and released on a recognizance. One of the terms of her recognizance was that she abstain from communication with OCAP except through the course of her employment. On June 15, 2001, Collis attended an OCAP rally in Toronto. She addressed the crowd. Officer Price, from the Durham Police Services, attended the rally to identify persons who had been involved in the Whitby incident. Officer Price formed the opinion that Collis had breached her recognizance and informed Officer Irwin, from the Toronto Police Services. Collis was arrested and charged with breach of a recognizance. The Crown subsequently withdrew the charge where there was no reasonable prospect of conviction. Collis sued Officers Price and Irwin and the respective Police Services for damages for false arrest, false detention and negligent investigation.

The Ontario Superior Court allowed the action and awarded Collis damages of $10,000. Collis appealed.

The Ontario Divisional Court allowed the appeal.

Police - Topic 5041

Actions against police - For false arrest - General - Collis was an organizer employed by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) - On June 12, 2001, she was arrested following a demonstration organized by OCAP in Whitby - She was charged with several offences and released on a recognizance - One of the terms of her recognizance was that she abstain from communication with OCAP except through the course of her employment - On June 15, 2001, Collis attended an OCAP rally in Toronto - She addressed the crowd - Officer Price, from the Durham Police Services, attended the rally to identify persons who had been involved in the Whitby incident - Officer Price formed the opinion that Collis had breached her recognizance and informed Officer Irwin, from the Toronto Police Services - Collis was arrested and charged with breach of a recognizance - The Crown subsequently withdrew the charge where there was no reasonable prospect of conviction - Collis sued Officers Price and Irwin and the respective Police Services for damages for, inter alia, false arrest - The trial judge found Officer Price liable for false arrest because Officers Price and Irwin "acted together" or in concert in effecting Collis's arrest - The Ontario Divisional Court allowed an appeal - The trial judge erred in finding that Officer Price was jointly responsible for the arrest - There was some cooperation between the two police forces, but there was not the "close working relationship" that the trial judge described, nor was Officer Price "actively instrumental" in effecting the arrest - Officer Irwin made the decision to arrest - Therefore, the trial judge erred in finding Officer Price and Durham Police liable for false arrest - See paragraphs 33 to 43.

Police - Topic 5041

Actions against police - For false arrest - General - Collis was an organizer employed by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) - On June 12, 2001, she was arrested following a demonstration organized by OCAP in Whitby - She was charged with several offences and released on a recognizance - One of the terms of her recognizance was that she abstain from communication with OCAP except through the course of her employment - On June 15, 2001, Collis attended an OCAP rally in Toronto - She addressed the crowd - Officer Price, from the Durham Police Services, attended the rally to identify persons who had been involved in the Whitby incident - Officer Price formed the opinion that Collis had breached her recognizance and informed Officer Irwin, from the Toronto Police Services - Collis was arrested and charged with breach of a recognizance - The Crown subsequently withdrew the charge where there was no reasonable prospect of conviction - Collis sued Officers Price and Irwin and the respective Police Services for damages for, inter alia, false arrest - The trial judge found Officer Price liable for false arrest because he did not have reasonable grounds for arrest - The Ontario Divisional Court allowed an appeal - A reasonable person in Officer Price's position could reasonably believe there were grounds for arrest when Collis began to address the crowd, given the prohibition on participating in public meetings of OCAP and the lack of clarity about her employment at the time - See paragraphs 44 to 55.

Police - Topic 5041

Actions against police - For false arrest - General - Collis was an organizer employed by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) - On June 12, 2001, she was arrested following a demonstration organized by OCAP in Whitby - She was charged with several offences and released on a recognizance - One of the terms of her recognizance was that she abstain from communication with OCAP except through the course of her employment - On June 15, 2001, Collis attended an OCAP rally in Toronto - She addressed the crowd - Officer Price, from the Durham Police Services, attended the rally to identify persons who had been involved in the Whitby incident - Officer Price formed the opinion that Collis had breached her recognizance and informed Officer Irwin, from the Toronto Police Services - Collis was arrested and charged with breach of a recognizance - The Crown subsequently withdrew the charge where there was no reasonable prospect of conviction - Collis sued Officers Price and Irwin and the respective Police Services for damages for, inter alia, false arrest - The trial judge found Officer Irwin liable for false arrest because he did not have reasonable grounds for arrest - Officer Irwin should not have relied on Officer Price's information without reading the recognizance and conducting further enquiries - The Ontario Divisional Court allowed an appeal - The trial judge erred in applying the objective test for reasonable grounds, as he conflated it with a test for negligence and inappropriately judged the officers' conduct on the basis of information not available to them at the time of the arrest, his own view of the correct interpretation of the condition, and his findings of fact - On the information available at the time of the arrest, Officer Irwin did have reasonable grounds for arrest for breach of recognizance, on both subjective and objective grounds - See paragraphs 56 to 68.

Cases Noticed:

Housen v. Nikolaisen et al., [2002] 2 S.C.R. 235; 286 N.R. 1; 219 Sask.R. 1; 272 W.A.C. 1; 211 D.L.R.(4th) 577, refd to. [para. 26].

Frazier v. Purdy (1991), 6 O.R.(3d) 429 (Gen. Div.), refd to. [para. 28].

R. v. Storrey, [1990] 1 S.C.R. 241; 105 N.R. 81; 37 O.A.C. 161, refd to. [para. 30].

Chartier v. Attorney General of Quebec, [1979] 2 S.C.R. 474; 27 N.R. 1, refd to. [para. 31].

R. v. Golub (D.J.) (1997), 102 O.A.C. 176; 34 O.R.(3d) 743 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 31].

P.H.E. v. Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police Service et al., [2003] O.T.C. 811 (S.C.), refd to. [para. 32].

Tschekalin v. Brunette et al., [2004] O.T.C. 589 (S.C.), refd to. [para. 36].

Hanisch v. Canada et al. (2004), 203 B.C.A.C. 161; 332 W.A.C. 161 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 37].

Hill et al. v. Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Police Services Board et al. (2005), 202 O.A.C. 310 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 69].

Authors and Works Noticed:

Fridman, Gerald Henry Louis, The Law of Torts in Canada (2nd Ed. 2002), p. 80 [para. 35].

Counsel:

Peter Rosenthal and Jackie Esmonde, for the plaintiff/respondent;

Adriana DeMarco, for Toronto Police Services Board and Detective Irwin, defendants/appellants;

Matthew L. Gaskell, for Durham Regional Police Services Board and Detective Price, defendants/appellants.

This appeal was heard on May 25, 2007, at Toronto, Ontario, by Swinton, J., of the Ontario Divisional Court, who delivered the following judgment on September 5, 2007.

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8 practice notes
  • Can v. Calgary Chief of Police et al.,
    • Canada
    • Court of Appeal (Alberta)
    • May 6, 2014
    ...O.T.C. Uned. 18; 2008 CarswellOnt 7 (Sup. Ct.), refd to. [para. 174, footnote 134]. Collis v. Toronto Police Services Board et al. (2007), 228 O.A.C. 333 (Div. Ct.), refd to. [para. 174, footnote P.H.E. v. Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police Service et al., [2003] O.T.C. 811; 2003 CarswellOnt 3......
  • Court Of Appeal Summaries (July 19-23)
    • Canada
    • Mondaq Canada
    • July 27, 2021
    ...450 , Hill v Hamilton-Wentworth (Regional Municipality) Police Services Board, 2007 SCC 41 , Collis v. Toronto Police Services Board (2007), 228 O.A.C. 333 (Div. Ct.), Ontario (Ministry of Labour) v. Hamilton (City), 58 O.R. (3d) 37 (C.A.), Good v. Waterloo (City) (2013), 67 O.R. (3d) 8......
  • Stewart v. Keating, (2015) 473 Sask.R. 108 (QB)
    • Canada
    • Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench of Saskatchewan (Canada)
    • April 15, 2015
    ...O.A.C. 13 (Div. Ct.), affing. (1988), 26 C.P.C.(2d) 109 (Ont. H.C.), dist. [para. 7]. Collis v. Toronto Police Services Board et al. (2007), 228 O.A.C. 333 (Div. Ct.), refd to. [para. 7]. Ryan v. Victoria (City) et al., [1999] 1 S.C.R. 201; 234 N.R. 201; 117 B.C.A.C. 103; 191 W.A.C. 103, re......
  • Tremblay v. Ottawa Police Services Board, 2016 ONSC 4185
    • Canada
    • Superior Court of Justice of Ontario (Canada)
    • December 31, 2016
    ...direction, the onus shifts to the defendant to justify his actions (Collis v. Toronto Police Services Board, 2007 CanLII 36634, 228 O.A.C. 333 (S.C. Div. Ct.), at para. There is no question that Mr. Tremblay was arrested, detained, and imprisoned by Officers Aspilaire and Ryan on the instru......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
7 cases
  • Can v. Calgary Chief of Police et al.,
    • Canada
    • Court of Appeal (Alberta)
    • May 6, 2014
    ...O.T.C. Uned. 18; 2008 CarswellOnt 7 (Sup. Ct.), refd to. [para. 174, footnote 134]. Collis v. Toronto Police Services Board et al. (2007), 228 O.A.C. 333 (Div. Ct.), refd to. [para. 174, footnote P.H.E. v. Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police Service et al., [2003] O.T.C. 811; 2003 CarswellOnt 3......
  • Stewart v. Keating, (2015) 473 Sask.R. 108 (QB)
    • Canada
    • Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench of Saskatchewan (Canada)
    • April 15, 2015
    ...O.A.C. 13 (Div. Ct.), affing. (1988), 26 C.P.C.(2d) 109 (Ont. H.C.), dist. [para. 7]. Collis v. Toronto Police Services Board et al. (2007), 228 O.A.C. 333 (Div. Ct.), refd to. [para. 7]. Ryan v. Victoria (City) et al., [1999] 1 S.C.R. 201; 234 N.R. 201; 117 B.C.A.C. 103; 191 W.A.C. 103, re......
  • Tremblay v. Ottawa Police Services Board, 2016 ONSC 4185
    • Canada
    • Superior Court of Justice of Ontario (Canada)
    • December 31, 2016
    ...direction, the onus shifts to the defendant to justify his actions (Collis v. Toronto Police Services Board, 2007 CanLII 36634, 228 O.A.C. 333 (S.C. Div. Ct.), at para. There is no question that Mr. Tremblay was arrested, detained, and imprisoned by Officers Aspilaire and Ryan on the instru......
  • Flood v. Boutette,
    • Canada
    • Court of Appeal (Ontario)
    • July 19, 2021
    ...is that the information be reliable at the time the decision was made to lay charges: Collis v. Toronto Police Services Board (2007), 228 O.A.C. 333 (Div. Ct.), at para. 66; see also Wong v. Toronto Police Services Board, 2009 CanLII 66385 (Ont. S.C), at paras. 59-68; Charlton v. St. T......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
1 firm's commentaries
  • Court Of Appeal Summaries (July 19-23)
    • Canada
    • Mondaq Canada
    • July 27, 2021
    ...450 , Hill v Hamilton-Wentworth (Regional Municipality) Police Services Board, 2007 SCC 41 , Collis v. Toronto Police Services Board (2007), 228 O.A.C. 333 (Div. Ct.), Ontario (Ministry of Labour) v. Hamilton (City), 58 O.R. (3d) 37 (C.A.), Good v. Waterloo (City) (2013), 67 O.R. (3d) 8......

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