Supreme Court will hear appeal in 50-year-old wrongful conviction case

OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada will hear the appeal of a wrongfully convicted Quebec man who spent nearly 50 years fighting to clear his name and win compensation.

Rejean Hinse was sentenced to 15 years in prison for a 1964 robbery, but the Supreme Court of Canada overturned the conviction more than 30 years later.

He sued the federal and provincial governments for compensation and the province settled for $4.5 million before judgment in 2011.

The federal government was ordered to pay almost $5.8 million, but the award was thrown out by the Quebec Court of Appeal, which said Hinse had not established the fault of the federal authorities.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear Hinse’s appeal of that ruling.

As usual, the justices gave no reasons for the decision to hear the case.