The applicant, Ms. Drmic, brought a motion for a stay of proceedings under s. 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, alleging unreasonable delay in her provincial offences matter for careless driving.
The total delay from the swearing of the Information to the scheduled trial date exceeded the 18-month presumptive ceiling established in R. v. Jordan.
The Crown argued that delay was attributable to issues with service, lack of judicial resources, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The court found no evidence to support defence-attributable delay or to sufficiently explain how lack of judicial resources or the pandemic specifically caused the delay in this case, emphasizing the Crown's burden to prove reasonable steps were taken to avoid delay.
The motion for a stay was granted.
