The accused was charged with refusing to provide a breath sample and obstructing police following a traffic stop on January 7, 2012.
The trial commenced on June 20, 2013, and continued on December 23, 2013, with a further continuation scheduled for September 3, 2014.
The accused brought a section 11(b) Charter application seeking a stay of proceedings based on unreasonable delay, arguing that approximately 31.5 months had passed from the swearing of the Information to the scheduled completion of trial.
The court dismissed the application, finding that while the delay was significant, it did not constitute unreasonable delay under the Morin framework.
The court apportioned the delay among inherent time requirements, defence actions, Crown actions, and institutional constraints, concluding that the majority of delay was attributable to inherent case requirements and defence preparation rather than Crown or institutional failures.