For terrorism preparatory offences under ss 101.4-101.6 of the Criminal Code, the Crown is not required to prove that the accused had determined when, how, where or by whom the terrorist act would be carried out. The proximity between the preparatory act and the completed offence does not determine objective seriousness; the main focus must be the offender's conduct and intention at the time the crime was committed. Section 31(8) of the NSI Act, requiring courts to give 'greatest' weight to the risk of prejudice to national security, is constitutionally valid and means no more than that greater weight must be given to national security risk than to any other single factor. Sentencing ranges from foreign jurisdictions are of no assistance for terrorism offences given differences in statutory regimes, maximum penalties and parole provisions.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 90 later cases that cite this judgment.
21 of the 90 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.