Most criminal cases in Ontario now ending before charges are tested at trial
CBC
Emily Quint says she would never have pursued the prosecution of the man she alleges sexually assaulted her nearly three years ago if she'd known what she'd go through.
"The whole process was horrific," said Quint. "The way that it ended, my whole world went up in flames."
A year ago, the sexual assault charge was stayed for an unreasonable delay after the trial failed to wrap before the time limit set in the 2016 Supreme Court decision R. v. Jordan.
A three-day trial was originally set for July 2023 (within the 18-month time limit for provincial court) but no courtrooms were available until the third day, so while Quint testified, the trial wasn't completed. Quint says she was blindsided by the news of the stay days before the trial was set to resume that November.
"This was the first time in my entire life that I had ever heard about charges being stayed at all, let alone for this reason," she said.
"There was so much anger, so much sadness. It was like, 'Who can I contact? What can I do? This can't be the end.'"
Quint's case is one of a growing number of criminal cases for which the merits of the charge are never tested at trial. Statistics Canada data reviewed by CBC Toronto shows a dramatic shift in criminal outcomes in Ontario over the last decade.
The majority of criminal cases in the province have ended with charges being withdrawn, stayed, dismissed or discharged before a decision at trial since 2020. In 2022-23, the latest fiscal year of data available, 56 per cent of criminal cases ended that way — a 14 per cent increase since 2013-14 when guilty decisions still made up most outcomes.
Justice system stakeholders say many factors go into decisions to stay, withdraw, or discharge criminal charges, including whether there's a reasonable prospect of conviction. But when it comes to stays or withdrawals for Jordan delay reasons, they told CBC Toronto a perfect storm of pandemic backlogs, increases in digital evidence, and a court system-wide shortage of resources are to blame.
"It's leaving my front-line Crowns in a really difficult position," said Donna Kellway, president of the Ontario Crown Attorneys' Association.
"You have people who are prepared to put their heart and souls into this job, but they need the proper resources in order to do that job properly."
In a statement, a spokesperson for Attorney General of Ontario Doug Downey told CBC Toronto the province is investing over $29 million this year to appoint a minimum of 25 new judges to the Ontario Court of Justice and hire 190 more Crown prosecutors, victim support and court staff.
"This investment will help prevent cases from being stayed for delay, help the court keep pace with a growing number of complex cases, and keep communities safe," said spokesperson Jack Fazzari.
"Recruitment is underway to ensure cases are heard faster and reduce the backlog across the criminal justice system."
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