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.