Rodi El Salibi

The appellant sought leave to appeal his sentence of seven years imprisonment for possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime, which was consecutive to a prior four-year sentence for similar offences.

The appellant argued the sentencing judge failed to apply the totality principle, resulting in an unfit total sentence of eleven years.

The Court of Appeal found that the sentencing judge did consider the totality principle and that the combined sentences were fit, emphasizing denunciation and deterrence given the quantity of drugs, commercial gain, and the commission of new offences while on release.

The applicant sought a stay of proceedings, arguing that the Crown's decision to proceed by direct indictment, bypassing a preliminary inquiry, constituted an abuse of process.

The applicant, a French speaker, contended that this decision was necessitated by the provincial court's inability to schedule a French preliminary inquiry within a reasonable timeframe, thereby violating his linguistic rights under the Criminal Code.

The court found that while there is no absolute right to a preliminary inquiry, the applicant was deprived of its ancillary benefits due to his choice to be tried in French, which constituted a systemic violation of his right to equal access to justice in his language.

The court concluded that this systemic issue amounted to an abuse of process, warranting a stay of proceedings.