On September 7, 2017, Mr. Pope, with Mr. Collins, had been driving around in a taxi to various locations in the City from 11:00 a.m. until the mid-afternoon. When they arrived at the scene, Mr. Pope was in the front passenger seat and Mr. Collins in the back. A man, who was in a nearby van, approached the taxi and passed some money to Mr. Collins through the window. Mr. Pope told Mr. Collins that he owed him $60. This led to an altercation. Both men got out of the taxi and began to fight. Both were “throwing punches” until Mr. Collins fell to the ground clutching his stomach. While there were witnesses, no one saw the knife or exactly what happened. Mr. Pope returned to the taxi and told the driver to “run him over”. Instead, the taxi drove off with Mr. Pope, leaving Mr. Collins lying in the street.

One of the witnesses, a registered nurse, lent assistance to Mr. Collins, who had been stabbed once in the lower abdomen. The wound, which was about eleven centimetres deep, punctured the abdominal aorta. Mr. Collins was transported to hospital, but died from loss of blood. Mr. Pope was charged with second degree murder for which manslaughter is an included offence.

Following a trial by jury, the respondent, Craig Pope, was convicted of second degree murder. A majority of the Court of Appeal allowed Mr. Pope’s appeal from conviction and ordered a new trial. In its view, the trial judge erred by failing to properly instruct the jury on the included offence of manslaughter. The majority was of the view that the difference between murder and manslaughter, particularly regarding the question of intent, was not explained with sufficient clarity.

In dissent, Goodridge J.A. would have dismissed the appeal. The crown appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada as of right.