The defendant was charged with two offences under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997: wilfully failing to inform the Board of a material change in circumstances and knowingly making a false or misleading statement in connection with a benefits claim.
The trial proceeded over multiple dates spanning from October 2016 to February 2019.
The defendant brought a section 11(b) Charter application alleging unreasonable delay in trial.
The court applied the Jordan framework and found that while the total delay exceeded the presumptive ceiling of 18 months, certain delays were attributable to defence conduct and waiver, and an exceptional circumstance existed in the form of a discrete event (a pending Ontario Court of Appeal decision on a related matter involving the interpretation of the mens rea element of the offence).
After accounting for these factors, the remaining delay still exceeded the ceiling, and the court granted a stay of proceedings.
