The court considered whether amendments to section 535 of the Criminal Code, effective September 19, 2019, which restricted preliminary inquiries to offences carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years or more, applied retroactively to invalidate elections for preliminary inquiries made before the amendment.
The Crown argued that prior elections were nullified and the court lacked jurisdiction.
The defence argued the amendment did not apply retroactively to vested rights and that validly made elections survived the enactment.
The court found itself bound by the Superior Court decision in R. v. R.S., which held that the Ontario Court of Justice lost jurisdiction to conduct preliminary inquiries except for offences with a 14-year maximum penalty as of September 19, 2019.
