The accused, Massimo Seibezzi, brought an application for a stay of proceedings under s. 24(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, alleging a breach of his s. 11(b) right to be tried within a reasonable time.
The Crown opposed the application.
The court applied the 'Bright Line' approach from R. v. Jordan, noting that the total delay of 16 months and 21 days was below the 18-month ceiling for the Ontario Court of Justice.
The defence failed to satisfy the onus to demonstrate that the case took markedly longer than it reasonably should have, despite taking steps to expedite.
The court emphasized that stays below the ceiling should be rare and limited to clear cases, and that the Crown's actions in withdrawing a charge and consenting to re-election, which contributed to some delay, were in the spirit of Jordan.
The application for a stay of proceedings was dismissed.
