How many criminal cases were halted by time limits?

A review of information provided by provinces and territories shows more than 400 criminal cases have been halted across Canada since the start of last year because they had exceeded time limits on how long trials can take before violating an accused’s Charter rights.

Here’s the breakdown of the numbers of recent cases scrapped because of the so-called “Jordan” time limits that were introduced in 2016:

Ontario: 178 cases stayed last year.

Quebec: 99 cases stayed in 2023, and 68 more in 2024 as of Aug. 31.

British Columbia: 26 cases stayed in 2023 and first half of 2024.

Alberta: 10 cases stayed between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024.

Saskatchewan: 23 cases stayed in 2023 and 2024.

Manitoba: Five stays granted in 2023 and 2024.

Prince Edward Island: No cases stayed due to Jordan limits.

Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Yukon could not provide statistics by deadline, the data not readily available, or they did not respond to request for information.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press