Amanda J. Camara

Kyle Ellis applied for a stay of proceedings under s. 24(1) of the Charter, alleging a breach of his s. 11(b) right to a trial within a reasonable time due to an 18-month and 14-day delay exceeding the 18-month presumptive ceiling established in R v Jordan.

The Crown argued for deductions of pre-arrest delay and defence delay, and exceptional circumstances due to joint trials.

The court found the 11(b) clock began at the swearing of the information, rejecting deduction of pre-arrest delay due to lack of police diligence.

The 36-day delay was not attributed to the defence as it was caused by co-accused counsel unavailability.

The joint trial complexity did not justify the delay, and the Crown and court failed to mitigate delay caused by the self-represented co-accused.

The court granted the stay, finding a Charter breach.

A young person, T.M., challenged the constitutionality of sections 42(2)(p) and 42(5)(a) of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA).

These provisions limit the availability and duration of deferred custody and supervision orders (DCSOs) for offences involving serious bodily harm, making them unavailable for youth in such cases and capping their duration at six months.

The Crown sought to dismiss the application.

The court found that these provisions violate sections 15 (equality) and 7 (liberty and fundamental justice) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The court reasoned that the provisions deny young persons a benefit (a community-based custodial sentence option) that is available to similarly situated adults, thereby perpetuating the disadvantage arising from their diminished moral blameworthiness and forcing youth into potentially harsher custodial sentences.

The court declared the impugned sections invalid.

Matthew Ferguson pleaded guilty to possession of psilocybin for trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime.

The Crown sought a 15-month custodial sentence, while the defence requested a conditional discharge.

The court considered aggravating factors, including the large quantity of psilocybin, the retail storefront operation, and the offender's managerial role and financial motivation.

Mitigating factors included the guilty plea, remorse, pro-social life, community involvement, and family support.

The court imposed a 12-month conditional sentence with house arrest for the first six months, 100 hours of community service, a DNA order, and a 10-year/life weapons prohibition.

Aladin Abdelgadir pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl and MDA for the purpose of trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime.

The court considered the significant quantity of fentanyl (over 2 kg), the accused's awareness of the opioid crisis and the dangers of fentanyl, his motivation by profit, and his related criminal record, including being on parole at the time of the offence.

Mitigating factors included his guilty plea, intelligence, and social context evidence related to systemic racism and a troubled upbringing.

The court emphasized general and specific deterrence due to the grave harm caused by fentanyl trafficking.

A global sentence of 13 years was imposed.

Douglas DeBoer pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud and one count of trading in securities while subject to a cease trade order under the Securities Act.

The court considered the circumstances of the offence, which involved two fraudulent investment schemes (Hockley Energy and Rocky Point) that defrauded investors of $7.5 million USD, and the offender's personal circumstances.

Emphasizing general deterrence as paramount in regulatory offences, the court found a high degree of moral blameworthiness due to the sophisticated, persistent nature of the fraud and the significant harm to investors.

Despite a guilty plea and no prior criminal record, the court imposed a total sentence of three years' incarceration, noting the central role of the offender and the breach of a prior cease trade order.

The accused brought a motion for a finding that his right to trial within a reasonable time under s. 11(b) of the Charter was breached, and sought a stay of proceedings.

The accused was charged with sexual assault.

The total delay from the swearing of the information to the anticipated end of trial was 608 days (19 months and 29 days).

After deducting defence delay of 42 days and a discrete event of 12 days, the net delay was 554 days, exceeding the 18-month presumptive ceiling by 7 days.

The court found no exceptional circumstances to justify the delay and granted the motion for a stay of proceedings.