No need to set time limit for sentencing proceedings, Supreme Court of Canada rules

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a man convicted of sexual assault is entitled to a reduced sentence due to the lengthy post-verdict sentencing phase. However, the court also stated there is no requirement for a specific time limit for determining a sentence, as there is no proof of a culture of complacency in Canadian sentencing proceedings.

The man, an Iranian citizen on a work permit in Ontario, was convicted in 2021. His sentencing proceedings continued into 2022 when he sought a stay, arguing his Charter right to timely justice had been violated. The Ontario trial judge dismissed the application, citing a five-month limit. The man appealed to the Ontario Court of Appeal, which revised the delay and reduced the sentence to 20 months.

The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, acknowledged the infringement of his Charter right but disagreed with the five-month limit, noting no evidence of a culture that would deem a delay presumptively unreasonable. The court emphasized that the variability of sentencing cases called for a flexible approach, rather than a fixed time limit.