An Alberta judge used Travis Vader's appeal of a bail violation condition to create a new legal test for defining a 'weapon'.

An Edmonton judge created a new test for defining a "weapon" under the Criminal Code while dismissing an appeal by Travis Vader.

Vader was found by police "in the middle of nowhere, driving and behaving erratically" on Feb. 28, 2015. Inside his pickup, officers discovered a machete and a fishing knife, which led a provincial court judge to convict Vader in 2016 of violating a condition of his bail. 

At the time, Vader was awaiting trial for killing St. Albert seniors Lyle and Marie McCann.

Vader was fined $100 and sentenced him to six days in jail, but received credit for time served, according to court records.

Vader didn’t dispute possession of the machete and knife, but his appeal argued the judge erred in considering them weapons under the Criminal Code definition that they were "designed for use."

In a decision filed with the Court of Queen’s Bench on Tuesday, Justice Terry Clackson dismissed Vader’s appeal, saying the trial judge rejected other possible uses Vader had for the items.

Clackson also decided to grapple with the section of the code he described as suffering from "considerable uncertainty."

Clackson wrote that the test for determining if an object that has both violent and non-violent potential uses is indeed a weapon should be "context" about the accused’s design, as well as the examination of other reasonable possibilities. Clackson gave the example that it is reasonable to have a machete in a forest, or a fishing knife at a lake, but it is not reasonable to have either on a city bus.

Vader is currently serving a life sentence for his convictions in the McCanns case. He has also filed an appeal in that case.  

pparsons@postmedia.com

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