The defendant, Timothy Tafilica, brought an application for a stay of proceedings, alleging a breach of his s. 11(b) Charter right to be tried within a reasonable time.
The total delay was 785 days (25.8 months).
The court calculated defence delay, attributing 57 days for a cancelled Crown Pre-Trial (CPT) and 105 days for defence unavailability for trial dates.
The net delay was 623 days (20.8 months), exceeding the 18-month Jordan ceiling.
The Crown argued for a deduction due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the court found no evidence that the pandemic specifically caused the delay in this case, noting that local resource issues predated and contributed to delay.
The court granted a stay of proceedings.