The appellants were convicted of traffic offences under the Highway Traffic Act after their applications for a stay of proceedings due to unreasonable delay under s. 11(b) of the Charter were dismissed.
The net delay in each case was under 14 months.
The summary conviction appeals judge upheld the dismissals, finding that the 18-month presumptive ceiling from R. v. Jordan applied to Part I Provincial Offences Act proceedings, and that the appellants failed to show they took steps to expedite their cases or that the delay was markedly longer than reasonable.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals, confirming that the 18-month Jordan ceiling applies uniformly to all provincial court proceedings, including regulatory offences, and found no error in the lower court's refusal to grant a stay.
