The defendant was charged with speeding 104 km/h in a posted 90 kph zone contrary to s. 128 of the Highway Traffic Act.
The incident occurred on March 7, 2013.
The defendant brought an application under s. 24(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a stay of proceedings due to a violation of the right to be tried within a reasonable time under s. 11(b) of the Charter.
The Crown took no position on the application.
The court found that the total delay of 12 months and 14 days from the date of the offence to the trial date was unreasonable, consisting of an excessive 6-month intake period to schedule the trial and a further 5-month delay from the Notice of Trial to the actual trial date.
The court determined that a reasonable neutral intake period for a Part 1 proceeding should be 30 to 45 days.
The defendant also demonstrated actual prejudice due to the delay.
The application was granted and a stay of proceedings was ordered.