A Manitoba judge stayed charges against a man accused of domestic violence after what he said were more than two years worth of unwarranted delays.
The man’s trial was originally set for late February, but the matter was adjourned to this fall after the Crown’s main witness didn’t show up.
Provincial court Judge David Ireland said in a decision delivered in October that there were issues finding time when Crown and defence were both available, but that at least some months of the delay were due to the courts being unable to accommodate a trial.
“A portion of the delay was therefore part of a systemic limitation of the court system,” the judge said.
The man was arrested in 2023 and charged with two counts of assault, with five additional charges laid after, including two counts of assault with weapon.
The case is the only one stayed in provincial court this year because of Jordan limits — the timeframe between charges and the anticipated or actual end of a trial after which charges may be stayed because of unreasonable delay.
Ireland said nearly a year and a half also passed between when the witness first made domestic abuse allegations and when she provided a sworn statement, calling it “foundational disclosure upon which the entirety of the current proceeding was based.”
He said the witness said she couldn’t fly to Winnipeg for the original trial because her child was feeling unwell, but that even accounting for those unforeseen circumstances, the proceeding would have been over the Jordan limit.
15 cases stayed
The Supreme Court deemed in the 2016 Jordan ruling that going beyond the “presumptive ceiling” — 18 months for provincial court and 30 for superior court — breaches the Charter right for criminal defendants to be tried within a reasonable time.
But once the defence asks for a stay under Jordan, the Crown can argue to continue proceedings by proving there were “exceptional circumstances” leading to the delay.
Since the 2016 ruling, Manitoba’s courts have stayed 15 cases due to the Jordan limit, according to statistics provided by the province.
Eleven of those cases have been stayed in the past five years. The province didn’t specify how many of the cases were in provincial or superior court.
But even if they’re not being stayed because of Jordan, thousands of cases are still taking just as long.
Data from Statistics Canada — which does not include superior court figures — shows that in 2023-24 alone, 1,656 adult criminal cases went past the Jordan limit in the province. They represent more than one in 10 of all such cases recorded during that period.
Nearly half the 1,656 cases — 704 of them — were stayed, withdrawn or dismissed after they exceeded the 18-month timeframe according to the data, which was released in October.
Out of the stayed, withdrawn or dismissed cases, 29 were classified as sexual assault, 39 were sexual offences like interference, luring or sexual exploitation, and 261 were assaults.
The data doesn’t track which of the cases were stayed, withdrawn or dismissed specifically due to the Jordan ruling, even if the timeframe was exceeded.
Call for more prosecutors
Michael Desautels, president of the Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneys, said in a statement prosecutors are increasingly grappling with cases that have become more complex due to things including electronic evidence and more pre-trial motions, requiring more court time.
“Prosecutors in Manitoba work incredibly hard to ensure that court cases proceed to trial in a timely fashion, often sacrificing personal and family time to do so,” the statement said.
“They cancel holidays and double-book trial days to make sure dates can be offered that will be within the limits set by the courts.”
Desautels called for Manitoba to add more Crown attorneys to deal with excessive workloads.
Chris Gamby, communications director for the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba, says there are several reasons that could have led to cases being stayed or withdrawn after exceeding the Jordan limit.
Prosecutors have the ethical duty to determine whether it’s in the public interest to proceed with a case and whether there’s a reasonable likelihood of conviction, Gamby said, while adding the limit is flexible and that the Crown can argue delays are reasonable in complex and serious cases.
“It is concerning to the general public when you hear about matters being stayed because of delay,” Gamby said.
Chris Gamby, communications director for the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba, says there are several reasons that may have led to cases being stayed or withdrawn after exceeding the Jordan limit. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)
“The other side of that is that there’s someone who has been on charge, waiting [for] their day in court. A lot of people don’t really realize how difficult that can be.”
Gamby says the time limit has been successful at forcing everyone in the legal system to get things moving along.
But he says underfunding throughout the whole justice system will continue to create difficult situations.
“There’s big pushes right now for us to detain more people or keep more people in jail,” he said.
“We don’t have enough Crown prosecutors. We don’t have enough courtrooms. We don’t have enough judges. We don’t have enough court staff. We don’t have enough defence lawyers … Stuff like this will continue to happen until something different is done.”
Government making resources available: minister
Justice Minister Matt Wiebe says the NDP government has significantly brought down court clerk vacancies in Winnipeg, added support staff for the Crown office and 35 prosecutors since it took office.
“Any case that … doesn’t come to trial in a timely fashion is of concern to me, but what is in our control is to ensure that the right resources are there,” the minister said.
Justice Minister Matt Wiebe says the NDP government has hired 35 prosecutors since it took office. (Tyson Koschik/CBC)
“We’ve also ensured that we’re bringing the pay up and we’ve got a solid deal with our Crown attorneys. All of this means that from our perspective, we are really putting the resources that are necessary.”
The minister says the fact only 15 cases have been stayed because of Jordan in the province shows Manitoba is doing a good job in comparison with other provinces, but that the government is always looking at ways to support the courts.
