DEFENCES - NECESSITY DEFENCE UNSUCCESSFUL
Sunday, March 22, 2015 at 11:36AM Mr. Millar farmed south of Edmonton. His cattle had escaped from the farm after a long day’s work, followed by drinking and sleep. He was awakened in the night and had no choice but to drive his truck down the road a distance in order to prevent them from walking onto the nearby highway. He had no land line, no cell phone coverage, so no reasonable alternative. He was driving on a low use rural road for a short distance, which would reflect a low degree of risk. However, after the danger was averted, he re-entered the truck and passed out over the steering wheel with the engine running. This is where he was located by the police. He was convicted at trial as the trial judge concluded that the imminent peril had been wholly or mostly eliminated. That conviction was upheld by the summary conviction appeal court but the Alberta Court of Appeal has granted leave to appeal. R. v. Millar, 2015 ABCA 72
For other similar cases, see:
R. v. Pankiw, 2014 SKQB 381, January 11, 2015 blog entry, and
R. v. Maxie, 2014 SKCA 103, December 14, 2014 blog entry.