The accused was charged under the Criminal Code for uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm and causing unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to a dog by kicking it.
The accused and Ms. P had an altercation on a walking trail where they were both walking their dogs, but disagree on how the encounter unfolded. Ms. P alleges that accused was walking his dog off leash on the trail and he cursed at her and kicked her dog, saying he would “find her” and “get her”. She ran home and called the police, found no injury on her dog and did not take it to the vet.
In her statement to police, Ms.P states that the accused was Indigenous; she believed him to Indigenous and not Chinese due to negative portrayals in media of Indigenous people and her own positive experiences with Chinese individuals. The accused stated that his dog was on leash while Ms.P’s was not, that her dog had charged and bit him and that Ms. P became angry with him for saying he was calling animal control and asking for her name and information. He denied kicking her dog or harming it in any way and that the only reason he put his foot out was to keep the other dog away from him.
The accused remained consistent in his testimony where Ms.P did not. She was combative, and made “further alarming comments about Aboriginals in contrast to Chinese people on cross-examination” [para 35].
The judge determined that Ms.P’s racist views and belief that the accused was Indigenous influenced her perception of the encounter and led her to exaggerate details of the incident, and found the accused to be a reliable and credible witness. The judge further found Ms.P to be an unreliable witness, and that there was no evidence that her dog had been injured.
The accused was acquitted on all charges.