In R v Jordan, a decision released last year, the Supreme Court of Canada imposed a framework to determine whether an accused was tried within a reasonable time under section 11 of the Charter.  The Supreme Court of Canada imposed a presumptive ceiling on the time it should take to bring an accused person to trial: 18 months for cases tried in the provincial court, and 30 months for cases in the superior court.  

This decision has had an impact on criminal, regulatory and bylaw matters across Canada.  This article considers the impact Jordan has had to date, and provides a commentary on other factors that may be contributing to lengthy delays in court.