The defendants, jointly charged with serious drug and gun offences, brought an application under section 11(b) of the Charter for a stay of proceedings due to unreasonable delay.
The total delay from charge to scheduled trial date was 29.25 months, exceeding the presumptive ceiling.
The Crown offered priority trial dates, which the defence rejected due to insufficient preparation time, despite the Crown's argument that disclosure issues could be addressed later.
The court found that the offered preparation time (3-4 weeks) was inadequate for a five-day trial involving serious indictable offences, and therefore, the defence was not responsible for the ensuing delay.
After deducting for defence-caused delay and complexity, the net delay remained 27.5 months, infringing the defendants' right to a trial within a reasonable time.
The proceedings were stayed.
