The defendant, Nina Nodwell, facing charges of careless driving causing death and bodily harm, brought two pretrial applications: one for a stay of proceedings due to unreasonable delay under s. 11(b) of the Charter, and another for a stay due to abuse of process by the Crown.
The court found the total delay was 19.6 months, but a significant portion was attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was deemed an exceptional circumstance.
After deducting the COVID-19 related delay, the net delay was well below the 18-month presumptive ceiling.
Regarding the abuse of process claim, the court found no firm resolution agreement was reached between the parties, and thus the Crown did not "resile" from a deal.
The court also found no prejudice to the defendant and no bad faith or improper motive by the Crown.
Both applications were dismissed, and the matter was ordered to proceed to trial.
