Kevin Singh Dumas Mehar

The accused, Urgen Tsering, brought an application for a stay of proceedings under section 11(b) of the Charter, alleging unreasonable delay in bringing his sexual assault, criminal harassment, and voyeurism charges to trial.

The total delay from arrest to the anticipated end of trial was 815 days (26 months and 23 days), exceeding the 18-month presumptive ceiling for the Ontario Court of Justice set by R. v. Jordan.

The court analyzed the periods of delay, attributing 158 days to the defence and the remaining 657 days (21.5 months) to the Crown, primarily due to significant police disclosure delays regarding CCTV footage and a witness statement.

The court found the delay presumptively unreasonable and granted the stay of proceedings.

The applicant brought a pre-trial Charter motion seeking to exclude evidence, including a loaded handgun and drugs, seized during a search incident to arrest.

The applicant argued that the police lacked reasonable and probable grounds to arrest him for drug trafficking, resulting in violations of sections 8 and 9 of the Charter.

The court found that the arresting officers, relying on their experience and observations of a suspected hand-to-hand drug transaction corroborated by surveillance video, had objectively reasonable grounds for the arrest.

The motion was dismissed.

The offender pled guilty to seven counts of counselling misrepresentation contrary to section 126 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Over a five-year period, the offender, an unlicensed immigration consultant, exploited vulnerable would-be immigrants seeking entry through the Live-In Caregiver Program by providing false employment contracts and Labour Market Opinions, charging substantial fees while delivering no legitimate services.

The offender threatened victims who complained.

The court imposed a sentence of 12 months imprisonment (11 months after pre-trial custody credit), three years probation with conditions including a prohibition on providing immigration advice, no contact orders with victims, and restitution orders totalling $23,500.