The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) is set to hear an appeal out of the Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”) on undue delay leading to dismissal in the case of Sweet Productions Inc. v Licensing IP International, 2022 FCA 111 [Sweet Productions] pursuant to Rule 167 of the Federal Court Rules, S.O.R./98-106 (“the Rules”).
How long is too long to wait for an administrative procedure to run its course? Has the answer changed given increasing focus on improving access to justice in the court system? Or does the COVID-19 pandemic potentially call for a total rethink of existing administrative law rules?
In R v Vassell, 2016 SCC 26, the accused, Mr. Vassell, was charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. However, Mr. Vassell’s trial was delayed by over three years, and because of this, he applied for a stay of proceedings and claimed that the delay violated his s. 11(b) Charter right. Under […]