Solving Ontario Court Delays: Is Limiting Preliminary Hearings The Answer?

In the wake of the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in R. v. Jordan, there have been various suggestions on how to deal with the issue of delay in the Ontario courts. One such idea is that of Ontario Attorney General Yasir Navqi. It has been reported that the Attorney General recently wrote the Federal Justice Minister with a request to greatly limit the use of preliminary hearings in an attempt to speed up the justice system. For lay people and those who do not practice criminal law this begs the questions – what is a preliminary hearing and what value does it provide the criminal justice system and those facing charges?

The right to a preliminary hearing (or preliminary inquiry) and the procedure behind it arise out of Part XVIII of the Criminal Code. An accused can elect a preliminary inquiry but only in more serious cases where the charge(s) are proceeding by way of indictment. The main purpose of a preliminary inquiry is to determine whether there is enough