This case was heard in the Nova Scotia Provincial Court.

Alexander Peter McDonald applied to have state-funded counsel for two separate trials. Mr. McDonald had been charged under the federal Fisheries Act with obstructing a fisheries officer and had been charged under the Criminal Code of Canada for dangerous operation of a motor vessel, as well as for violating court orders.

Mr. McDonald applied for state-funded counsel on the grounds that he had tried and failed to receive legal aid, that the issues before the Court were complex, and that the honour of the Crown made it necessary for the government to treat him fairly, given that he was a Mi'kmaw man.

The Government of Canada opposed Mr. McDonald's application, arguing that Mr. McDonald had not tried hard enough to find legal representation and that the honour of the Crown does not extend to procedural matters such as providing state-funded counsel.

The Court held that Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms recognizes that defendants charged with criminal and regulatory offences have “the right to make full answer and defence”, and the Court found that Mr. McDonald would not be in a position to make full answer and defence to some of the charges against him if he did not have a lawyer's assistance. For that reason, the Court held that Mr. McDonald should recieve state-funded counsel to represent him in defending some of the charges against him, but the Court also held that the matters concerning the violations of court orders were straightforward enough that Mr. McDonald could deal with them on his own.

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/ns/nspc/doc/2001/2001nspc7/2001nspc7.html

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