R. v. Scott Milligan, 2004 NSPC 9 (CanLII)

This case was heard in the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia.

Mr. Milligan contracted to sell top soil from property that he owned. Mr. Milligan required a permit to remove topsoil from the property, and although he had at one point initiated the permit application process, he had not completed the process, and his incomplete application had been rejected by the Department of Environment. Mr. Milligan went ahead with the topsoil removal despite not having a permit, and he was charged under the provincial Environment Act with having engaged in “an activity designated by regulations as requiring an approval when he did not hold the appropriate approval.”

During the trial, after the Crown had completed its case in chief, Mr. Milligan filed a motion for a directed verdict, and also argued that his rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been violated by unreasonable searches and so certain pieces of evidence submitted by the Crown should be excluded. After considering the facts and the relevant law and legal principles, the Court dismissed the motion for a directed verdict and also denied the motion for the exclusion of certain evidence.

To read about other decisions related to this case, go to R. v. Milligan, 2005 NSSC 22 (CanLII) and R. v. Scott Milligan, 2004 NSPC 42 (CanLII).

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/ns/nspc/doc/2004/2004nspc9/2004nspc9.html

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