The accused brought a Rowbotham application seeking a stay of proceedings until state-funded counsel was provided after Legal Aid Ontario denied funding.
The court considered whether the accused had established the three elements required for state-funded counsel: exhaustion of legal aid remedies, inability to retain counsel, and that counsel was essential to a fair trial.
The court found that the anticipated drug trafficking trial was relatively straightforward, involved limited witnesses, and did not raise complex legal issues.
The accused also failed to provide adequate financial disclosure or demonstrate reasonable efforts to secure private funding for counsel.
The application was dismissed.