Understanding the Argument

An important point to remember is that any unusually long amount of time, even something over 10 months, plus your application for a stay, forces the court to consider whether the delay was reasonable.

In order to determine whether you experienced an unreasonable delay, the court will balance your right under section 11(b) of the Charter with the factors that lead to the delay:

• waiver of time periods;
• the total length of the delay;
• the reasons for the delay, including
• (a) inherent time requirements of the case,
• (b) actions of the accused,
• (c) actions of the Crown,
• (d) limits on institutional resources, and
• (e) other reasons for delay; and
• prejudice to the accused.

Making a successful argument is not easy. The factors above need to be addressed by you in your application in such a way to show that your rights under the Charter have been infringed.

The factors that the court considers are discussed in detail below.