REMMINGTON v RBC DIRECT INVESTING INC

The Plaintiff applied to find the Defendant in civil contempt for allegedly failing to comply with a prior Production Order. The dispute arose after incorrect tax reporting by the Defendant led to adverse tax consequences for the Plaintiff. Although the Defendant later corrected the tax documents and the Plaintiff successfully resolved his issue with the Canada Revenue Agency, he continued the litigation and sought additional records and sanctions.

The Plaintiff argued that the Defendant failed to produce all relevant records, particularly metadata relating to the removal of certain shares from his account. The Court applied the test for civil contempt, which requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt that a clear order was breached, the party knew of the order, and intentionally failed to comply. Justice Gaston found that the Order did not clearly require the Defendant to extract or create metadata from its systems, that the Defendant had produced all reasonably identifiable records, and that there was no evidence of intentional non-compliance.  

Gaston J. held that the contempt test was not met and, in any event, declined to exercise its discretion to find contempt. The Court found that the Defendant had taken reasonable steps to comply, and the situation did not threaten the authority of the Court. Justice Gaston emphasized that contempt is a last resort and that alternative remedies were available. Given that the Plaintiff had already obtained the primary relief sought, the Application for contempt and further disclosure was dismissed.