Brian McCallion

The accused was charged with impaired driving and driving with excess alcohol following a traffic stop at an intersection.

The Crown's evidence established that the accused was found slumped over the steering wheel of a running vehicle at a red light, displaying signs of impairment including red glassy eyes, slurred speech, and an odour of alcohol.

The accused was arrested and subjected to breathalyzer testing, which yielded readings of 160 and 180 mgs of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

The accused challenged the admissibility of the breathalyzer evidence on Charter grounds, alleging that he was not properly informed of his right to counsel due to language comprehension difficulties.

The court found that the accused's Charter rights under section 10(b) were infringed and excluded the breathalyzer evidence under section 24(2) of the Charter.

However, the court found the accused guilty of impaired driving based on the officers' observations at the roadside, and not guilty of driving with excess alcohol due to the exclusion of the breathalyzer results.

The applicant applied for a stay of proceedings under section 24 of the Charter, arguing his right to be tried within a reasonable time under section 11(b) was infringed.

The total delay from the charge to the anticipated trial date was approximately 28 months.

The court analyzed the delay using the Morin framework, attributing portions to inherent time, Crown delay, and institutional delay.

The court found the total attributable delay was modestly above the guidelines for a two-stage process.

However, balancing the delay against the lack of significant prejudice to the applicant and the seriousness of the firearms charges, the court dismissed the application.