Defence application to strike guilty plea to charge of conspiracy to commit robbery. Section 606(1.1) had been complied with; however, the Court rejected Crown and Defence counsel’s joint submission on sentence. Issue of the effect of Anthony-Cook, 2016 SCC 43 on withdrawal of guilty pleas.
Held: Application to withdraw guilty plea denied.
“I am not persuaded that the Supreme Court’s decision [in Anthony-Cook] changed the law on the issue of when it might be appropriate for a court to permit an accused to withdraw her or his guilty plea, generally, or in relation to circumstances involving a rejected joint sentencing submission….Save for offering, in passing, a circumstance where the withdrawal of a guilty plea might be permitted, the Court explicitly stated that it was not deciding this issue.” Here, despite quid pro quo of the joint submission and collateral immigration consequences, circumstances were not exceptional such that withdrawal of a valid guilty plea was justified.
G. Dunn –Defence Counsel