H. Palin

The applicant, facing charges related to the exploitation of migrant workers, brought an application for a stay of proceedings under s. 11(b) of the Charter, alleging unreasonable delay.

The total time from the charges to the anticipated end of the trial was calculated at 39.39 months.

The court deducted periods of defence delay, largely attributable to scheduling challenges in a joint prosecution, and periods of exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic backlog.

The net delay was calculated at 28.33 months, which fell below the 30-month presumptive ceiling.

The application was dismissed.

During a criminal jury trial for arson with disregard for human life under s. 433(a) of the Criminal Code, the Crown sought to have the jury also consider arson causing damage to property under s. 434 as a lesser and included offence, or alternatively, to amend the indictment to add a s. 434 charge.

The court ruled that s. 434 is not a lesser and included offence of s. 433(a) because it contains distinct elements, such as the property not being wholly owned by the accused.

The court denied the Crown's motion to amend the indictment mid-trial, finding it would prejudice the accused and risk confusing the jury.

However, the court permitted the offence of mischief to be put to the jury as a valid included offence.

The accused brought a pretrial motion seeking permission to pose a race‑based challenge for cause question to prospective jurors using a multiple‑choice format designed to detect conscious and unconscious racial bias.

The Crown did not oppose a race‑based challenge for cause but objected to the proposed form of questioning.

The court reviewed jurisprudence including the Parks question and later cases considering expanded questioning formats.

The judge concluded that while a race‑based challenge for cause was appropriate, there was no evidentiary basis to depart from the established Parks formulation in favour of a multiple‑choice question.

The court held that the standard Parks question, modified to refer to judging the evidence “fairly,” adequately addressed concerns about potential juror bias without unnecessarily complicating the jury selection process.