Lisa Jørgensen

The accused brought a motion for a stay of proceedings pursuant to section 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, alleging that his right to be tried within a reasonable time had been breached.

The trial commenced in January 2015 and evidence was completed in June 2016, with final submissions heard in November 2016.

The accused's application was brought following the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in R. v. Jordan, which established new presumptive ceilings for trial delay.

The court dismissed the application, finding that while the net delay exceeded the 18-month ceiling, it was justified by exceptional circumstances and the transitional exceptional circumstance applicable to cases substantially completed before Jordan was released.

Following a decision regarding the assessment of a law firm's accounts, the court received cost submissions.

The respondent law firm sought $14,800 in costs, including a $10,000 disbursement for a transcript.

The applicant opposed the transcript costs and alleged duplication.

The court found the requested costs modest, upheld the necessity of the transcript, and fixed costs at $10,800 inclusive of disbursements and HST, to be set off against the amount the law firm was ordered to repay the applicant.