Stephanie Columbus

The applicant, Troy Simpson, sought a stay of proceedings under s. 24(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, alleging a violation of his right to be tried within a reasonable time under s. 11(b).

The total delay from the swearing of the Information to the anticipated end of trial was 576 days.

The court deducted 91 days attributable to defence delay due to lack of diligence in pursuing disclosure and setting pre-trials, and an additional 90 days for exceptional circumstances related to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on court operations.

After these deductions, the net delay was calculated at 395 days (12.9 months), which falls below the 18-month presumptive ceiling for the Ontario Court of Justice.

Consequently, the application for a stay of proceedings was dismissed.

The appellant, a novice driver, appealed his conviction for operating a motor vehicle while holding a cellular phone, arguing his guilty plea (made by paying the fine) was uninformed because he was unaware of the automatic 30-day licence suspension that followed.

The court dismissed the appeal, distinguishing the licence suspension as a direct consequence of the Highway Traffic Act (HTA) regulatory scheme, rather than a collateral consequence that would invalidate the plea.

The court emphasized that drivers are expected to be aware of the consequences within the highly regulated driving regime and that the simplified plea process under the Provincial Offences Act (POA) is intended for efficiency, making it rare to set aside a plea on "fundamental fairness" grounds for readily discernable penalties.