Signs of a shift on remedies for unreasonable delay

With recent developments from both Parliament and the Supreme Court of Canada, there has been a growing willingness to reconsider how courts respond to unreasonable delay in criminal proceedings. At the centre of the discussion is whether a stay of proceedings should remain the sole remedy for unreasonable delay under the framework established in Rahey and reinforced in Jordan.

Commenting on the Supreme Court’s January hearing in R. v. R.B.-C., partner Jeremy Opolsky told The Globe and Mail that “there appeared to be little appetite on the court for stay of proceedings as the only remedy.”

He noted that the judges’ questions suggested an openness to reconsidering Rahey, with Chief Justice Richard Wagner taking an unusually active role during the hearing.

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