The defendant, Jay Singh Toor, brought an application for a stay of proceedings under section 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, alleging unreasonable delay in his impaired driving case.
The defence argued the delay from arrest (May 16, 2020) to the anticipated end of trial (January 19-21, 2022) exceeded the 18-month presumptive ceiling established in R. v. Jordan.
The Crown contended that the s. 11(b) clock began when the information was sworn (September 7, 2020) and that there was defence-caused delay.
The court, following R. v. Kalanj, confirmed that the s. 11(b) clock starts when the information is sworn.
After deducting defence delay (approximately 7.5 weeks), the net delay was calculated to be under 15 months, falling below the 18-month ceiling.
The court also considered the COVID-19 pandemic as an exceptional circumstance impacting court operations.
The application for a stay of proceedings was dismissed, as the delay was not found to be markedly longer than it reasonably should have been, especially given the pandemic context, and no s. 7 Charter violation was established.