SUPREME COURT OF CANADA

Appeal heard: April 25, 2017 Judgment rendered: April 25, 2017 Docket: 37314

Between:

Her Majesty The Queen

Appellant

and

Hubert Hunt,

William Parsons,

Gary Hillyard and

John King

Respondents

Coram: Abella, Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Wagner, Gascon, Côté and Brown JJ.

Reasons for Judgment: (paras. 1 and 2)

Abella J. (Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Wagner, Gascon, Côté and Brown JJ. concurring)

R. v. Hunt, 2017 SCC 25, [2017] 1 S.C.R. 476

Her Majesty The Queen Appellant

v.

Hubert Hunt,

William Parsons,

Gary Hillyard and

John King Respondents

Indexed as: R. v. Hunt

2017 SCC 25

File No.: 37314.

2017: April 25.

Present: Abella, Moldaver, Karakatsanis, Wagner, Gascon, Côté and Brown JJ.

on appeal from the court of appeal for newfoundland and labrador

Constitutional law — Charter of Rights — Remedy — Stay of proceedings — Accused jointly charged with fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, falsifying books and documents, and circulating false prospectus — Accused alleging abuse of process due to pre-charge delay in violation of their constitutional right to security of person — Trial judge granting stay of proceedings — Majority of Court of Appeal finding no basis on which to conclude that trial judge erred in determining that stay of proceedings was appropriate remedy — Dissenting judge finding that accused not deprived of constitutional right to security of person and that stay of proceedings should not have been granted — Stay of proceedings not warranted.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Court of Appeal for Newfoundland and Labrador (Welsh, Rowe and Hoegg JJ.A.), 2016 NLCA 61 , 33 C.R. (7th) 321, [2016] N.J. No. 372 (QL), 3016 CarswellNfld 425 (WL Can.), affirming a decision of Thompson J., 2015 NLTD(G) 15, 334 C.R.R. (2d) 236, 361 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 193, 1122 A.P.R. 193, [2015] N.J. No. 39 (QL), 2015 CarswellNfld 27 (WL Can.) . Appeal allowed, Côté J. dissenting.

Lloyd M. Strickland , for the appellant.

Derek Hogan , for the respondent Hubert Hunt.

Randolph J. Piercey , Q.C. , for the respondent William Parsons.

Jonathan E. Noonan , for the respondent Gary Hillyard.

John Brooks , Q.C. , for the respondent John King.

The judgment of the Court was delivered orally by

[ 1 ] Abella J. — A majority of this Court is of the view that the appeal should be allowed substantially for the reasons of Hoegg J.A.

[ 2 ] Justice Côté would dismiss the appeal substantially for the reasons of the majority in the Court of Appeal.

Judgment accordingly.

Solicitor for the appellant: Special Prosecutions Office, St. John’s.

Solicitor for the respondent Hubert Hunt: Newfoundland and Labrador Legal Aid Commission, St. John’s.

Solicitors for the respondent William Parsons: Noonan Piercey, St. John’s.

Solicitors for the respondent Gary Hillyard: Noonan Piercey, St. John’s.

Solicitor for the respondent John Brooks: John Brooks Law Office, St. John’s.