A 小蓝视频 Supreme Court judge has ordered a stay of proceedings in a drug-trafficking case due to the length of time it took for the case to get to trial.
Canadians have a constitutional right to a timely trial, a right reinforced in the Supreme Court of Canada 2016 decision in R. v. Jordan which set ceilings for time-to-trial lengths.
Here, Margaret Rose Conrad was with possession of various controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking, and possession of a prohibited conducted energy weapon without a licence.
The drugs and weapon were seized during an Aug. 6, 2022, search of a trailer occupied by the accused, Justice Douglas Thompson said in a .
The charges were laid in November 2023 and included charges against three people from Vancouver Island.
The investigation by 小蓝视频’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU-小蓝视频), which targets gangs, resulted in the charges being approved.
CFSEU-小蓝视频 secured charges against three Duncan residents stemming from a 2020 investigation into drug trafficking on the Island. That investigation led to search warrants being executed at two Duncan residences in March 2021. Charges of possession of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking were laid against Nicholas Doug Gollinger, Jason Thomas Conrad and Conrad.
Conrad’s trial was due to end Aug. 22, 2025.
Thompson said the time period from the swearing of the criminal charges to the August date exceeds the Jordan ceiling by three months and 20 days.
Conrad was committed to stand trial July 12, 2023 on the completion of a preliminary inquiry, a hearing held to determine if enough evidence exists to proceed to trial.
The trial was due to start June 11, 2024 but was adjourned. There were then several voir dires, hearings held to determine admissibility of evidence.
“I find that none of the delay that has occurred since the adjournment of the trial in June 2024 is defence delay,” Thompson said.
With files from Jeff Bell
