Legal agent convicted of obstruction of justice after lying to the Court regarding the whereabouts of his client. Defence sought a stay of proceedings on the basis of an alleged abuse of process. Crown initially told the accused that he was not “going to do anything about” his lie to the court, however, later an obstruction charge was laid.
Held: No s. 7 breach.
Court not satisfied that there was an agreement between the Crown and accused that was then repudiated. The Crown saying that they were “not going to do anything”, is not the same as an express decision not to later pursue charges. To prove an abuse, the court must be satisfied of “prosecutorial misconduct, improper motive or bad faith in the approach, circumstances, or ultimate decision”: Nixon, [2012] 2 SCR 566. No evidence of Crown misconduct.
T. Engel, Defence Counsel