PART VOntario Rules of Practice Respecting Reduction in the Number of Years of Imprisonment Without Eligibility for ParoleShort Title

50.01 These Rules may be cited as the Review of Parole Ineligibility Rules.

Interpretation

50.02 In these Rules,

applicant

applicant means a person who makes an application and includes, according to the context, counsel acting for that person; (requérant)

application

application means an application made pursuant to subsection 745(1) of the Code; (demande)

Attorney General

Attorney General means the Attorney General of Ontario and includes counsel acting for the Attorney General; (procureur général)

Code

Code means the Criminal Code; (Code)

judge

judge means the judge of the Ontario Court (General Division) designated by the Chief Justice to empanel a jury pursuant to subsection 745(2) of the Code in respect of an application; (juge)

local registrar

local registrar means the registrar of the Ontario Court (General Division) for the county or district in which a preliminary hearing or hearing in respect of an application takes place; (greffier local)

Registrar

Registrar means the Registrar of the Ontario Court (General Division) in Toronto. (greffier)

Contents of Application

50.03 An application shall be in writing in Form 20 and shall contain a statement of

• (a) the applicant’s given names, surname and date of birth;

• (b) the name and place of the institution in which the applicant is detained;

• (c) the name and place of each institution in which the applicant has been detained since the time of the applicant’s arrest for the offence that is the subject of the application and the date of entry into each of those institutions;

• (d) the offence that is the subject of the application, the sentence imposed, the dates of conviction and sentencing and the place of the trial;

• (e) the applicant’s number of years of imprisonment without eligibility for parole;

• (f) the applicant’s criminal record;

• (g) the grounds relied on, stated precisely and concisely;

• (h) the relief sought; and

• (i) the applicant’s address for service.

Service and Filing of Notice

General Rule

• 50.04 (1) The applicant shall cause a copy of the application to be served upon

  • (a) the Solicitor General of Canada;

  • (b) the Attorney General; and

  • (c) the officer in charge of the institution in which the applicant is detained.

Manner of Service

• (2) Service of an application may be effected by registered mail, in which case it shall be deemed to have been effected on the seventh day after the day on which it was mailed, or in accordance with rule 5 of the Criminal Proceedings Rules of the Ontario Court.

Filing with Proof of Service

• (3) An application, together with the affidavit referred to in rule 50.05, shall be filed with the Registrar.

• (4) Proof of service of an application may be established by filing with the Registrar an affidavit of the person who effected the service or by any other means that the Chief Justice is satisfied is required in the interests of justice.

Delivery of Application to Chief Justice

• (5) An application shall be delivered by the Registrar to the Chief Justice on receipt by the Registrar of proof of service of the application in accordance with subrule (4).

Materials for Use on Application

50.05 The application shall be accompanied by an affidavit of the applicant in Form 21.

Determination of Eligibility

General Rule

• 50.06 (1) On receipt of an application, the Chief Justice shall determine whether subsection 745(1) of the Code applies to the applicant.

Order to be Made

• (2) Where the Chief Justice determines that subsection 745(1) of the Code does not apply to an applicant, the Chief Justice shall dismiss the application and, where the Chief Justice determines that that subsection does apply to an applicant, the Chief Justice shall send the application to the judge.

Preliminary Hearing

Date and Place of Preliminary Hearing

• 50.07 (1) On receipt of an application, the judge shall

  • (a) determine the date and place of the preliminary hearing to be held in connection with the application; and

  • (b) send a written notice of the date and place of the preliminary hearing to the Attorney General.

Notice of Preliminary Hearing

• (2) On receipt of a notice referred to in paragraph (1)(b), the Attorney General shall cause a written notice of the date and place of the preliminary hearing to be sent by registered mail to, or served on,

  • (a) the applicant;

  • (b) the Solicitor General of Canada; and

  • (c) the officer in charge of the institution in which the applicant is detained.

  Filing of Notice of Preliminary Hearing

• (3) A copy of each notice referred to in paragraph (1)(b) and subrule (2) shall be filed with the local registrar.

General Conduct of Preliminary Hearing

• (4) At a preliminary hearing held in connection with an application, the judge may determine any matter that may promote a fair and expeditious hearing of the application and may make any orders and give any directions necessary for the hearing of the application.

Adjournment of Preliminary Hearing

• (5) The judge at a preliminary hearing may adjourn the preliminary hearing as the judge considers appropriate in the interests of justice.

Evidence at Preliminary Hearing

• (6) At a preliminary hearing, the applicant and the Attorney General shall inform the judge of any evidence they intend to present and of the manner in which they intend to present it.

Evidence by Affidavit

• (7) Where, at a preliminary hearing held in connection with an application, the applicant or the Attorney General informs the judge that the applicant or the Attorney General proposes to present evidence by affidavit, the judge may require the attendance of the deponent for the purpose of cross-examination and may give directions regarding the use to be made of that evidence at the hearing of the application.

Parole Eligibility Report

• (8) At a preliminary hearing, the judge may order that a parole eligibility report in respect of an applicant, having regard to the matters referred to in subsection 745(2) of the Code, be prepared.

Contents of Parole Eligibility Report

• (9) A parole eligibility report in respect of an applicant shall be prepared by a person designated by the Solicitor General of Canada and shall contain

  • (a) a summary of the applicant’s social and family background;

  • (b) a summary of the applicant’s classification and discipline evaluations;

  • (c) a summary of the regular reports on the applicant’s conduct;

  • (d) a summary of any psychological and psychiatric assessments that have been made of the applicant; and

  • (e) any other information relevant to a complete description of the applicant’s character and conduct.

• (10) A parole eligibility report in respect of an applicant may contain any information relevant to the issue of the parole eligibility of the applicant.

Adjournment to Prepare Parole Eligibility Report

• (11) Where the judge at a preliminary hearing orders a parole eligibility report to be prepared, the judge shall adjourn the preliminary hearing to allow for the preparation of that report.

Filing of Parole Eligibility Report

• (12) A parole eligibility report shall be filed with the local registrar.

Delivery of Parole Eligibility Report

• (13) A local registrar who receives a parole eligibility report in respect of an applicant shall deliver a copy of that report to the applicant and to the Attorney General.

Notice of Resumption of Preliminary Hearing

• (14) The judge, on being informed that a parole eligibility report has been filed, shall notify the applicant and the Attorney General that the preliminary hearing is being resumed.

Date of Resumption of Preliminary Hearing

• (15) In setting the date for the resumption of a preliminary hearing, the judge shall allow at least 30 days for the applicant and the Attorney General to study the parole eligibility report in respect of the applicant.

Disputed Evidence at Preliminary Hearing

• (16) Where the applicant or the Attorney General disputes any part of the parole eligibility report in respect of the applicant, the applicant or the Attorney General may require the attendance of the author of that report at the preliminary hearing for the purposes of cross-examination.

Reception of Report and Further Evidence

• (17) In the case of a dispute at a preliminary hearing held in connection with an application, the judge shall decide what parts of the parole eligibility report in respect of the applicant and what additional evidence, if any, are to be presented at the hearing of the application.

Determination at Conclusion of Preliminary Hearing

• (18) At the end of a preliminary hearing in connection with an application, the judge shall

  • (a) order that a jury be empanelled and shall determine the date and place for the hearing of the application; or

  • (b) where the judge considers that subsection 745(1) of the Code does not apply to the applicant, refer the application back to the Chief Justice.

The Hearing of the Application

Empanelling the Jury

• 50.08 (1) A jury referred to in subsection 745(2) of the Code shall be empanelled in accordance with Part XX of the Code with the modification set out in subrule (2) and with such other modifications as the circumstances require.

Challenges

• (2) For the purposes of subrule (1), the applicant and the Attorney General are entitled to the same number of peremptory challenges as they would be entitled to if the applicant were being tried for the offence that is the subject of the application.

Conduct of the Hearing

• (3) At the hearing of an application, the judge may

  • (a) hold a voir dire on the admissibility of the parole eligibility report referred to in rule 50.07 in respect of the applicant;

  • (b) admit any evidence that the judge considers credible and trustworthy; and

  • (c) order any investigations that the judge considers necessary in the interest of justice.

Adjournment of Hearing

• (4) The judge at the hearing of an application may adjourn the hearing as the judge considers appropriate in the interests of justice.

Additional Orders

• (5) The judge may at any time make

  • (a) an order setting time limits;

  • (b) an order requiring that an applicant be brought before the court; and

  • (c) any further orders in relation to an application that the judge considers necessary in the interests of justice.

In Camera Hearings

• (6) Where the judge is of the opinion that it is necessary to do so in the interest of public morals, the maintenance of order or the proper administration of justice, the judge, in addition to any other order that the judge may make, may order that any proceeding in relation to an application be held in camera or may order a total or partial ban on the publication of any evidence presented at any such proceeding.

Application of Section 527 of Code

• (7) Where a judge makes an order pursuant to paragraph (5)(b), section 527 of the Code applies with such modifications as the circumstances require.

Presentation of Evidence

• (8) No person other than the applicant and the Attorney General may present evidence at the hearing of an application.

Order of Presentation of Evidence

• (9) At the hearing of an application, the applicant shall present evidence first and may, if the judge so permits, present rebuttal evidence after the evidence of the Attorney General is presented.

Reference to Chief Justice

• (10) Where, after the evidence is presented at the hearing of an application, the judge considers that subsection 745(1) of the Code does not apply to the applicant, the judge shall refer the application back to the Chief Justice and adjourn the hearing pending a determination by the Chief Justice.

• (11) Where an application is referred back to the Chief Justice pursuant to paragraph 50.07(18)(b) or subrule 50.08(10) and the Chief Justice determines that subsection 745(1) of the Code does not apply to the applicant, the Chief Justice shall dismiss the application and the judge shall discharge the jury.

Addresses to Jury

• (12) Where, after the evidence is presented at the hearing of an application, the judge considers that subsection 745(1) of the Code applies to the applicant, the applicant, followed by the Attorney General, shall address the jury.

• (13) The judge, at the hearing of an application, shall address the jury on the applicable law and evidence, after the address to the jury, if any, by the applicant and the Attorney General.

Determination by Jury

• (14) The jury at the hearing of an application shall base its decision exclusively on the evidence presented to it at the hearing.

Records of Proceedings

50.09 A transcript of all proceedings in connection with an application shall be prepared and filed with the local registrar.