Ontario鈥檚 top court has ruled that a former Canadian soldier accused of murder, who was set free due to years of court delays, must stand trial.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been hell, but at least today, it鈥檚 the first positive sign for me,鈥� the victim鈥檚 mother, Nicole Nayel, told CTV News on Thursday.
Ex-soldier Adam Picard was arrested in December of 2012 and charged with the killing of 28-year-old Fouad Nayel, who went missing in June of that year.
The Ottawa man鈥檚 decomposed body was eventually found in a wooded area near Calabogie, in the Upper Ottawa Valley, in November 2012. It was discovered that he had been shot twice in the back.
Picard was charged with first-degree murder in Nayel鈥檚 death in December 2012. He spent four years in custody before an Ontario Superior Court judge, Justice Julianne Parfett, stayed the charge under the Supreme Court of Canada鈥檚 ruling on set time limits for trials, known as the Jordan decision, which were introduced last summer.
The Supreme Court of Canada鈥檚 new rules state that cases must go to trial within 18 months in provincial court and within 30 months for those heard in Superior Court, unless the Crown can prove the delays were reasonable.
In her decision, Parfett ruled that Picard鈥檚 rights to be 鈥渢ried within a reasonable time鈥� had been infringed. Picard was released in November 2016.
Prosecutors appealed Parfett鈥檚 decision to stay the first-degree murder charge in the Ontario Court of Appeal, with the Crown arguing that the Ontario judge mischaracterized the nature of the delays and didn鈥檛 consider the complexity of the case.
Today鈥檚 appeal ruling agreed, saying that the 鈥渢rial judge erred鈥� in her application of the Jordan decision, not taking the 鈥渟eriousness of the offence鈥� into account or the 鈥渢ransitional period鈥� for cases already in progress before Jordan.
鈥淎fter getting the phone call, I鈥檓 very happy,鈥� Nicole Nayel said. 鈥淚鈥檓 very confident now that we鈥檙e going to get justice.鈥�
The family, however, believes that when Picard was set free, the system let them down.
鈥淲e're treated like a piece of garbage, and this has got to change,鈥� Fouad鈥檚 father, Amine Nayel, said.
鈥淚t's not only our case,鈥� Nicole Nayel added. 鈥淭here's other cases (that are) going to be affected too.鈥�
So far, more than 200 cases have been stayed under the Jordan decision and thousands more could be too, prompting calls for the government to speed up the judicial process.
鈥淭hey have to look at the judicial vacancies, ensure that the judges are appointed on a regular basis,鈥� Conservative justice critic Rob Nicholson recently said.
But a solution, Marco Mendocino, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, says, will take time.
鈥淭here's no one silver bullet to solving this problem.鈥�
With files from CTV National News Parliament Hill correspondent Kevin Gallagher and The Canadian Press
