Case information

Constitutional law — Charter of Rights — Right to be tried within reasonable time — Applicant charged with two provincial offences with respect to stop-work orders issued by respondent City — Applicant alleging breach of Charter s. 11(b) because of lengthy pre-trial delays — Trial judge dismissing Charter application, based on deficiency in Notice of Constitutional Question provided to Attorneys General — Appeal judge dismissing applicant’s appeal — Court of Appeal dismissing applicant’s motion seeking leave to appeal — Whether courts below applied correct test for providing notice of constitutional question — Whether Attorneys General should be required to notify applicants of deficiencies in Notices of Constitutional Questions and certify Notices before constitutional questions can be heard — Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s. 11(b) — Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, s. 109 — Provincial Offences Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.33, ss. 116, 131.

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

The applicant, Peter Dimakos, was charged with two provincial offences for failing to comply with a municipal stop-work order issued by the respondent, the City of Toronto. Mr. Dimakos brought a motion seeking to have the offences annulled due to lengthy delays in bringing his case to trial, which he alleged infringed his right to be tried within a reasonable time, as guaranteed by s. 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. A Justice of the Peace dismissed the Charter application, finding that the motion was not properly before the court, given that the Attorney General had not been adequately served and the application had not been perfected.

A judge at the Ontario Court of Justice dismissed Mr. Dimakos’ appeal from the Charter application ruling. A single judge at the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed Mr. Dimakos’ motion seeking leave to appeal.