A judge has delayed her decision in the case of a Toronto teacher accused in the drowning of a 15-year-old boy on a canoe trip.

       The prosecution argues Nicholas Mills breached his duty of care in organizing the July 2017 trip to Algonquin Provincial Park, where Jeremiah Perry drowned.

       Crown attorney Anna Stanford alleges the teacher from C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute ignored safety rules and allowed Perry, who she says could not swim, in the water without a life-jacket.

       Mills has pleaded not guilty to criminal negligence causing death.

       The defence has disputed the allegation that Perry could not swim, and argued that the teacher’s conduct did not meet the threshold for a criminal conviction.

       Justice Maureen Forestell says it has been an unusually busy summer and she will give her decision on Oct. 6.

       This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2021.