Anna M. Martin

The accused faced charges including possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking following an encounter with police that began with a purported Highway Traffic Act bicycle infraction.

The court found the police stop was a pretext to investigate possible gang or drug involvement and that the accused was subjected to an unlawful and humiliating public strip search.

The court rejected key portions of the arresting officer’s testimony, finding the officer unreliable and concluding that the detention and search violated ss. 8 and 9 of the Charter.

Given the seriousness of the Charter breaches and the strong temporal connection between those breaches and the discovery of the cocaine in a police cruiser, the evidence was excluded under s. 24(2).

With no remaining evidence, the charge was dismissed.

The accused applied for a stay of proceedings under s. 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, alleging that the approximately 35½‑month delay between arrest and trial violated the right to be tried within a reasonable time.

Applying the framework from R. v. Morin, the court assessed the length of delay, waiver, reasons for delay, and prejudice.

Significant portions of the delay were attributed to neutral causes, including the co‑accused’s efforts to retain counsel and institutional scheduling limitations, with only minimal Crown delay.

The court found no demonstrable prejudice to the accused’s liberty, security, or trial fairness interests.

Balancing the individual and societal interests, the court concluded that the delay did not amount to a Charter breach.