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ARTICLE · 07 MARCH 2018

Unreasonable Delay In Environmental Prosecutions After R V Jordan: Where Are We Now

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The 2016 Supreme Court of Canada decision in R v Jordan, 2016 SCC 27, created a major stir in the criminal bar by clarifying what constitutes an accused's right under subsection 11(b) of the Charter ...

CanadaEnvironment
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The 2016 Supreme Court of Canada decision in R v Jordan, 2016 SCC 27, created a major stir in the criminal bar by clarifying what constitutes an accused's right under subsection 11(b) of the Charter to be tried within a reasonable time.

There was speculation at the time of the decision's release about its impact upon environmental prosecutions. Approximately 1.5 years since that time, a number of decisions have applied R v Jordan to environmental prosecutions. Below, we survey some of the most salient points from this emerging jurisprudence.

Clarifying unreasonable delay

R v Jordan set out "ceilings" establishing the maximum reasonable amount of time that can elapse from the laying of charges upon an accused until the end of his or her trial. For matters tried in Provincial Court, the ceiling established by the Supreme Court is 18 months; for matters tried in Superior Court, the ceiling is 30 months. The Court also clarified that there is a presumption that

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