February 6, 2026
Recent Success at Court of Appeal
The Hamilton Spectator reported on the recent success of Robert Hooper and Ryan A. Sullivan at the Court of Appeal for Ontario in an article published January 1, 2026 “Family suing Attorney General of Canada for granting gun license to killer”.
As result of the decision in Sienna v. Duckett, 2025 ONCA 867, Susan Clairmont writes:
The Canadian government issued a gun license to a mentally ill Hamilton man, who used it to kill his neighbour.
The victim’s family can now pursue a lawsuit against the Attorney General of Canada (AGC) claiming it was negligent by failing to properly screen the killer, who was found not criminally responsible (NCR) for the homicide.
This case required the Court of Appeal to consider whether circumstances could be pleaded that would give rise to an arguable duty of care owed by the federal government to the neighbour of an applicant who was ineligible to hold a gun license, yet granted one. In granting leave for the plaintiffs to amend their claim, this question will be answered on a fuller evidentiary record in the future.
Asked about the decision, Mr. Hooper noted the ongoing evidentiary challenges pursuing this claim against the federal government:
One challenge for the Siennas, says their lawyer Robert Hooper, is they have not seen the files related to the gun application.
“Nobody knows what’s in his RCMP file,” says Hooper.
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