The accused brought a second application seeking a stay of proceedings for abuse of process arising from plea negotiations conducted during a firearms and drug prosecution.
The accused argued that the Crown’s settlement offer—requiring an induced statement recanting prior evidence and implicating defence counsel in knowingly presenting false testimony—constituted prosecutorial misconduct.
The court held that plea negotiation communications were protected by settlement privilege and could not be unilaterally waived by the defence.
The presence of the accused’s father during the discussions did not vitiate the privilege.
Finding no extrinsic evidence of prosecutorial impropriety sufficient to justify piercing the privilege or reviewing the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, the court ruled the evidence of settlement discussions inadmissible and dismissed the application.
