The accused brought a motion for a stay of proceedings based on an alleged violation of his section 11(b) Charter right to trial within a reasonable time.
The information was sworn on January 13, 2017, and the trial was scheduled for December 3 and 5, 2019, resulting in a total delay of 35.1 months, well exceeding the 18-month presumptive ceiling established in R. v. Jordan.
The court found that the police failed to take any meaningful steps to execute the warrant or advance the investigation after obtaining it, instead remaining passive despite knowing the accused's general location in Alberta.
The court rejected the Crown's argument that the 12-month period between the accused's contact with police and his voluntary surrender constituted defence delay, finding no evidence of deliberate evasion.
After deducting legitimate defence delay of 6.13 months, the net delay of 28.97 months exceeded the presumptive ceiling with no exceptional circumstances to justify it.
The court granted the stay of proceedings.