Criminal Defence Law Blog
“Multiple political parties have concluded that “being tough on crime is a winning strategy that has public appeal and will gather them votes and so they are leaning into it,” Latimer said.
“Rather than correcting misperceptions about the actual levels of crime, they’re feeding the misperception.”
Recent headlines in the news in Toronto: 1. Charges stayed because a police officer decided to gratuitously kick a suspect in the face while on the ground, knocking out a tooth and breaking his jaw. 2. Police officers charged with criminal offences for running over individuals on ebikes with their cruiser. 3. The “public must pay a sex offender’s $50,000 legal bill due to deliberately uncooperative Toronto cop.”
Does police misconduct seem to be on the increase? Is there any apparent reason?
In Ontario driving while impaired or with 80 mg. or more of alcohol in 100 milliliters of your blood is a criminal offence. Upon arrest, your driver’s license will be suspended for 90 days and your vehicle will be impounded. Later, in court, if you are convicted or plead guilty, in the simplest case, the minimum sentence will be $1,000 with an additional $300 victim fine surcharge and you will be prohibited from driving for one year. You will have to have an ignition interlock device installed in your vehicle for the latter 9 months and take the province’s remedial program. YOU WILL HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD. YOU CAN HAVE A TRIAL, ASSERT A DEFENCE AND REQUIRE THE CROWN TO PROVE THE CHARGE BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT.
THESE CHARGES ARE SO PROLIFIC THAT THEY CONSTITUTE A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN BRINGING DELAY TO THE COURT SYSTEM
In Saskatchewan and Alberta are dealing with these charges administratively. Upon detection by the police, in the simplest of cases, they will immediately suspend your license, impound your vehicle, mandatory use of an ignition interlock device, education courses and fines of $1,300. YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO A TRIAL TO CHALLENGE THE POLICE ASSESSMENT, but YOU DO NOT HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD.
Is the lack of criminal record and relieving some court delay a sufficient trade off for not being able to effectively defend the charge in court?
“10 years after Jordan ruling, Quebec prosecutors forced to make ‘heartbreaking’ choices”
“On the wider spectrum, [the Jordan framework] is a positive decision. That being said, there’s a downside to it. The problem is that the resources did not follow,” he said.
The ruling set time limits for criminal trials to ensure an accused person’s Charter right to be tried within a reasonable time frame — 18 months for provincial court and 30 for Superior Court.
In trials that go on beyond those time limits, charges can be thrown out.
In recent years, the Jordan ruling has resulted in an increase of charges being tossed for going beyond those limits, as shown by data obtained by CBC News through an access-to-information request.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/jordan-ruling-quebec-court-impact-9.7261900
Okay, so our criminal justice system has evolved and transcended torture, right?
But then I read: “What do these displays (and our fascination with them) say about humankind? Medieval or modern, human cruelty and torture haven’t gone away. Today, although 146 members of the United Nations have ratified an international convention against torture, it is practised around the globe.”
And then I thought about our present jail system.
In order for this headline not to be misleading consider what “stayed or withdrawn” means. “To capture these cases, Statistics Canada groups together stays (where criminal proceedings are halted), withdrawals, dismissals, discharges at preliminary inquiry, and referrals to alternative or restorative justice programs. Following Statistics Canada, I refer to these outcomes collectively as “stayed or withdrawn.” Withdrawals and referrals to alternatives are in the complete discretion of the Crown Attorney and are usually invoked when there is no reasonable prospect of conviction or no public interest in proceeding or the charges are so minor they don’t justify further delaying the system with trials. Charges are dismissed when a Judge determines that the Crown has not proven the offence. Charges are discharged at a preliminary inquiry when a judge determines that the evidence is insufficient to go to trial. Stays are usually imposed by a trial Judge for breaches of constitutional rights in many forms, only one of which is unreasonable delay.
To blame delay on the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision of Jordan is a superficial analysis. The S.C.C. addressed delay 3 times with different solutions. Following R. v. Askov in 1990, the “Askov crisis” resulted in tens of thousands of criminal charges across Canada being stayed. Two years later in R. v. Morin in 1992 the court attempted to fine tune the system setting 8 – 10 months as the limit in provincial court trials. Finally, 10 years ago in R. v. Jordan in 2016 the court attempted to streamline the complicated stay applications (which in and of themselves were causing delay) and increased the limit of 18 months in provincial court trials.
Throw into the delay mix the myriad of unconstitutional laws our federal government has previously and presently imposed on its citizens. It has previously taken and now will take many hundreds if not thousands of constitutional challenges through the various levels of courts for the next 10 or more years. This is a huge contributor to delay.
After 36 years, the courts have not or have not been able to comply. If you want to blame someone for unreasonable delays in our criminal court system, you need to look elsewhere than the Jordan decision.
macdonaldlaurier.ca/justice-delayed-nearly-60-of-violent-crime-cases-are-stayed-or-withdrawn-in-canada-dave-snow-in-the-hub/
Get tough on bail with the new, stricter federal bail laws? Deny bail in repeat and violent offenders? We already do that. Pressure the provinces to provide more funding and resources? Definitely needed. The article says that the legislation responds to “rising levels of violent crime”. Still, it later reports “In the latest available data, (reported violent crime) it ticked down to 967 (per 100,000 people) in 2024. About bail: “In 2023-24, in the latest numbers from Statscan, there was an average count of 19,335 people across Canada jailed on remand” and “Ontario led the increase, with a 26-per-cent spike.” “The latest 2025 bail data from Ontario indicate that about one in three people who were denied bail had all charges against them dropped, meaning they were jailed but then never found guilty of a crime. 1 IN 3 DENIED BAIL WERE INNOCENT! THAT’S 6,445 PEOPLE UNNECCESSARILY INCARCERATED.
Its function is to determine if a crime has been committed and if so, to impose punishment. It is a system of PUNISHMENT, not healing. A contested criminal trial is a battle- a war. No participant emerges without harm. It is not a place for healing.
https://www.law360.ca/ca/articles/2489060
