New trial ordered for Sask. man whose drug trafficking charges were stayed due to COVID-19 delays
A Saskatchewan man who had his charges stayed based on pandemic delays in court will be headed back for trial, after a ruling from the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.
According to a decision dated Jan. 18, a man charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking successfully applied for a judicial stay of his charges. The application to the judge was based on Section 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which covers trial within a reasonable time.
Preliminary hearings were adjourned twice in compliance with COVID-19 protocols then in place at the Provincial Court, determining the total delays stretching to the end of a trial would be 1,318 days.
According to the trial judge:
- 216 days were caused by defence delay
- 77 days were caused by “discrete exceptional circumstance,” the first pandemic adjournment
- 1,025 days were unaccounted for, including the second pandemic adjournment
The trial judge ruled the unaccounted for delays were above the allowed amount, or “presumptive ceiling” of 942 days and granted the stay.
“We have found that the trial judge erred in his characterisation of the second COVID 19 adjournment,” the Court of Appeal said in its decision, adding the second delay of 221 days was also exceptional circumstance, putting the case back below the ceiling.
The Crown appealed the decision based on evidence all parties, including the defence, had agreed to the second adjournment and its exceptional circumstances based in part on court records that said: “COVID adjournment, this is the earliest date available.”
The decision said the records are not an express waiver of the delay, but does show the accused had admitted the delay was both required due to the pandemic and an exceptional circumstance, through his council.
“We therefore allowed the appeal, set aside the stay of proceedings, and remitted the matter to the Court of King’s Bench for trial.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.