Saturday, Jan 16, 2016 06:00 am

By: Doug Neuman

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A decision on accused murderer Travis Vader’s abuse-of-process application is expected by Jan. 26, but might be delayed.

Justice Denny Thomas set a hearing for that date, but said he will be out of the country for four weeks afterwards and couldn’t guarantee he would be able to come to a decision by then.

"I’m not promising I’ll have it done by then, but I’m reasonably confident I can have a decision done by that time, subject to the usual vagaries of the court system," he said.

Arguments in the abuse-of-process hearing, which Vader launched because as his lawyers have argued, a stay of proceedings entered in the weeks before his 2014 trial date amounts to the Crown trying to "make an end run" around court process, wrapped up on Wednesday.

Vader is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of St. Albert couple Lyle and Marie McCann, and was initially set to go to trial in early 2014. Crown prosecutor Michelle Doyle, who was in charge of the case at that point, entered a stay of proceedings, but the charges were reactivated within one year. Vader’s trial is now set to begin two years later, in March 2016.

Defence lawyer Nathan Whitling also argued at length on Jan. 12 that the delay amounts to a breach of Vader’s right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to have a trial without unreasonable delay. He and defence lawyer Brian Beresh have argued the stay was entered as a way to give the Crown more time to prepare its case, because it was clear Vader would not have consented to an adjournment to delay the trial.

If successful, Vader’s application could result in a judicial stay of proceedings, meaning he would not have to face trial in March.

Crown prosecutor Ashley Finlayson said the stay of proceedings, which Doyle entered in February 2014, was done because disclosure from the RCMP was still coming, and due to the complexity of the file she was concerned Vader might not be able to get a fair trial.

He acknowledged Vader faced a two-year delay because of the stay, but said the Crown had no other options if it wanted to ensure a fair trial.

"It’s just that overwhelming amount of material that made it difficult, and in fact impossible by the deadline, to keep track of it," he said. "Ms. Doyle entered the stay because she had concerns about Mr. Vader receiving a fair trial."

Finlayson said there was no concern that the Crown needed more evidence – Doyle believed there was a good likelihood of conviction with the evidence she already had. Ultimately, he said the delay in question was required for "bona fide" reasons, and therefore is not an abuse of process or an unreasonable delay.

If the abuse-of-process application is denied, Vader’s trial is scheduled to begin March 7, 2016, and is scheduled to run for approximately one month.