Ichim Law Sponsored - The Waterloo Region Crown Office Appeals a Kitchener Man’s DUI Charges Based on the Readback Provision
By Bobby Kushner / January 16, 2026KITCHENER, ONT. -- A 52-year-old Kitchener man sat in January 2025 in the Waterloo Region Courthouse and waited for Justice Dominique Kennedy to read his verdict on the 52-year-old’s two DUI, driving under the influence, charges.
The accused mechanical engineer hoped to hear not guilty on all charges!
After a seven-day trial, Justice Kennedy read his verdict to the accused: not guilty on all charges.
However, the Waterloo Region lead Crown, Alanna Fedak-Tarnopolsky appealed the Justice’s ruling based on the Readback provision in the Criminal Code.
The accused’s lead counsel, Gloria Ichim said, “The Crown pursued a clear care-and-control case against my client and only presented evidence for that case.
Nothing about my client driving intoxicated earlier in the day, which the Crown never presented evidence for at trial.”
The Criminal Code’s Care And Control provision bars any intoxicated person from occupying the vehicle’s driver seat or operating its controls: the vehicle’s gearshifter, ignition and steering wheel.
The accused’s co-counsel, Emmanuel Wingate, said, “If the Crown filed a Readback application at trial, the court would have sent us – the defence – a Notice To Call, which the court never did.”
A Notice to Call, a court notice directing the defence to call its experts to test the accuracy of the police’s physical evidence and examine if the police followed the proper procedures when collecting and handling that evidence.
- The accused then drank spirits as he continued to wait for his friend.<>
- After the accused’s friend left the restaurant, the accused entered his vehicle, urinated in a bottle, phoned his wife for a ride home then returned to the restaurant and consumed more spirits.
- The patron then phoned police about an intoxicated patron entering his vehicle.
- When the accused’s wife arrived to collect her husband, the police also arrived then charged the accused in April 2023 for Impaired Operation and Over 80.
- At trial, the Crown pursued a care-and-control case against the accused. A case based on the accused occupying the vehicle’s driver seat or operating its controls while intoxicated.
- Justice Kennedy ruled in January 2025 the accused not guilty on both charges.
- Waterloo Region lead Crown, Alanna Fedak-Tarnopolsky appealed in September 2025 the Justice’s ruling and asserted, The accused drove while intoxicated to the restaurant.
Ichim said, "My top concern, the Crown never presented any evidence or testimony showing the accused drove intoxicated to the restaurant nor served us a Notice To Call to challenge the Crown’s Readback application because the Crown never filed that application at trial.
"Meaning, the Crown's appeal violates the accused's Charter rights to challenge the Crown's new position, which wasn't presented at trial, and examine the accuracy of the police's physical evidence.
"So the Crown filed this appeal to uphold the Bell precedent, and nothing more!"
To learn more about this appeal, email Gloria Ichim at gichim4@gmail.com
Ichim Law, a family, estate and criminal law firm in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. For additional information about Ichim's practice and other cases, click Ichim Law
Bobby Kushner, a screenplay, feature and public-relations writer in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. To work with Kushner or pitch your story ideas, contact him at kushnerbobby@gmail.com or 226 - 220 - 4961
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The Criminal Code’s Care And Control provision bars any intoxicated person from occupying the vehicle’s driver seat or operating its controls: the vehicle’s gearshifter, ignition and steering wheel.
The accused’s co-counsel, Emmanuel Wingate, said, “If the Crown filed a Readback application at trial, the court would have sent us – the defence – a Notice To Call, which the court never did.”
A Notice to Call, a court notice directing the defence to call its experts to test the accuracy of the police’s physical evidence and examine if the police followed the proper procedures when collecting and handling that evidence.
Ichim’s appellate response outlines the case this way
- The accused entered a Kitchener restaurant while waiting for a friend. A restaurant patron said to police and later testified, “The accused appeared sober when arriving at the restaurant.”- The accused then drank spirits as he continued to wait for his friend.<>
- After the accused’s friend left the restaurant, the accused entered his vehicle, urinated in a bottle, phoned his wife for a ride home then returned to the restaurant and consumed more spirits.
- The patron then phoned police about an intoxicated patron entering his vehicle.
- When the accused’s wife arrived to collect her husband, the police also arrived then charged the accused in April 2023 for Impaired Operation and Over 80.
- At trial, the Crown pursued a care-and-control case against the accused. A case based on the accused occupying the vehicle’s driver seat or operating its controls while intoxicated.
- Justice Kennedy ruled in January 2025 the accused not guilty on both charges.
- Waterloo Region lead Crown, Alanna Fedak-Tarnopolsky appealed in September 2025 the Justice’s ruling and asserted, The accused drove while intoxicated to the restaurant.
Ichim said, "My top concern, the Crown never presented any evidence or testimony showing the accused drove intoxicated to the restaurant nor served us a Notice To Call to challenge the Crown’s Readback application because the Crown never filed that application at trial.
"Meaning, the Crown's appeal violates the accused's Charter rights to challenge the Crown's new position, which wasn't presented at trial, and examine the accuracy of the police's physical evidence.
"So the Crown filed this appeal to uphold the Bell precedent, and nothing more!"
To learn more about this appeal, email Gloria Ichim at gichim4@gmail.com
Ichim Law, a family, estate and criminal law firm in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. For additional information about Ichim's practice and other cases, click Ichim Law
Bobby Kushner, a screenplay, feature and public-relations writer in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. To work with Kushner or pitch your story ideas, contact him at kushnerbobby@gmail.com or 226 - 220 - 4961
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Kushner's profile
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Ichim Health Sponsored - Canadian Patients Experience Increased Wait Times for Treatments and Surgeries
By Bobby Kushner / April 1, 2024KITCHENER, ONT. -- A 55-year-old Hanover, Ontario resident points his finger at the asphalt on highway 4 because he struggles to see the passing vehicles on the highway, though the evening sun illuminates the road.
"Whenever any amount of light directly hits my eyes, I can't see anything," the 55-year-old says. "especially reflective light at night."
The cataracts of the 55-year-old John Gilroy have obfuscated his vision for a few years.
"I’ve been on the OHIP wait list for cataract surgery for over two-years now," Gilroy says. "If I don’t get the surgery soon, I’ll need to quit my job because I can’t drive or work when my eyes are deteriorating like this."
John Gilroy’s wait-list crisis resembles 78% of Canadian patients, a 2022 Fraser Institute study finds.
"Excessively long wait times remain a characteristic of Canada’s health-care system," says Mackenzie Moir, a Fraser Institute policy analyst.
"And yes, the long wait times decreased the quality of life and work productivity and increased unemployment, and in the worst cases, disability or death.
"For most Canadian patients wait for treatments and surgeries about two years and, sometimes, four years."
The provinces and territories together call the federal government to provide them a $28 billion annual increase, so they better contend with the staffing shortages. The federal government agrees to the funding increase if the provinces and territories compose a plan for expanding the health-care workforce and improving data sharing among the provinces and territories.
The director of the Manitoba Health Coalition, Thomas Linner says, "We need to staff up and share data in a more timely manner across all provinces and territories, so all Canadian health-care providers and facilities make more informed decisions more quickly, and so all patients benefit across Canada. . . . I think the federal government’s starting to realize this."
Hoping to receive a date for his cataract surgery, John Gilroy phoned the office of his ophthalmologist. However, the office provided him no upcoming date for his surgery, so Gilroy still remains on the wait list.
ImmortaBio, a senescence-cell, stem-cell and immunotherapy treatment company in Miami Beach, Florida, USA. To learn more, click ImmortaBio
Bobby Kushner, a screenplay, feature and public-relations writer in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. To work with Kushner or pitch your story ideas, contact him at kushnerbobby@gmail.com or 226 - 220 - 4961
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"And yes, the long wait times decreased the quality of life and work productivity and increased unemployment, and in the worst cases, disability or death.
"For most Canadian patients wait for treatments and surgeries about two years and, sometimes, four years."
The provinces and territories together call the federal government to provide them a $28 billion annual increase, so they better contend with the staffing shortages. The federal government agrees to the funding increase if the provinces and territories compose a plan for expanding the health-care workforce and improving data sharing among the provinces and territories.
The director of the Manitoba Health Coalition, Thomas Linner says, "We need to staff up and share data in a more timely manner across all provinces and territories, so all Canadian health-care providers and facilities make more informed decisions more quickly, and so all patients benefit across Canada. . . . I think the federal government’s starting to realize this."
Hoping to receive a date for his cataract surgery, John Gilroy phoned the office of his ophthalmologist. However, the office provided him no upcoming date for his surgery, so Gilroy still remains on the wait list.
ImmortaBio, a senescence-cell, stem-cell and immunotherapy treatment company in Miami Beach, Florida, USA. To learn more, click ImmortaBio
Bobby Kushner, a screenplay, feature and public-relations writer in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. To work with Kushner or pitch your story ideas, contact him at kushnerbobby@gmail.com or 226 - 220 - 4961
Download the copy
Kushner's profile
Donate