Sona Sood

The applicant brought a section 11(b) Charter application seeking a stay of proceedings on grounds of unreasonable trial delay.

The charge was for failing or refusing to provide a breath sample at a roadside screening device on March 8, 2012.

The total delay from the swearing of the information to the trial date was approximately 15 months.

The court conducted a detailed attribution analysis of the delay periods and found that the Crown was responsible for approximately 12 months of delay, primarily due to failure to provide crucial in-car video disclosure in a timely manner and failure to arrange a Crown pre-trial meeting.

The court found that the delay exceeded constitutional limits and that the applicant's interests in a prompt trial outweighed society's interest in a trial on the merits, resulting in a stay of proceedings.

The defendant sought Charter relief following his arrest for care and control of a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs, possession of Ketamine, and assault with intent to resist arrest.

The defendant challenged the lawfulness of his arrest under s. 9 of the Charter, the delay in informing him of the reasons for arrest under s. 10(a), and the legality of a Level 3 strip search conducted at the police station under s. 8.

The court found that while the arrest was lawful and the s. 10(a) delay was brief and non-prejudicial, the strip search violated s. 8 rights as it lacked the requisite justification under the Golden test.

However, the court declined to grant a stay of proceedings, finding that no remedy was appropriate in the circumstances.