Guindon v Canada

Guindon v Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
Hearing: 5 December 2014 Judgment: 31 July 2015
Full case name	Julie Guindon v Her Majesty The Queen
Citations	2015 SCC 41
Docket No.	35519 [1]
Prior history	APPEAL from Canada v Guindon, 2013 FCA 153 (12 June 2013), setting aside Guindon v The Queen, 2012 TCC 287 (2 October 2012). Leave to appeal granted, Julie Guindon v Her Majesty the Queen, 2014 CanLII 12480 (20 March 2014).
Ruling	Appeal dismissed.
Holding
The SCC has a well‑established discretion, albeit one that is narrow and should be exercised sparingly, to address the merits of a constitutional issue when proper notice of constitutional questions has been given in that Court, even though the issue was not properly raised in the courts below. Civil penalty proceedings under s. 163.2 of the Income Tax Act are of an administrative nature. They are not criminal in nature and do not lead to the imposition of true penal consequences. Therefore, G is not a person "charged with an offence" and accordingly, the protections under s. 11 of the Charter do not apply.
Court membership
Reasons given
Majority	Rothstein and Cromwell JJ, joined by Moldaver and Gascon JJ
Concur/dissent	Abella and Wagner JJ, joined by Karakatsanis J
McLachlin CJ and Côté J took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
Income Tax Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 1 (5th Supp.), s. 163.2

Guindon v Canada, 2015 SCC 41 is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on the distinction between criminal and regulatory penalties, for the purposes of s.11 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It also provides guidance on when the Court will consider constitutional issues when such had not been argued in the lower courts.