B.C. trials may have to be delayed, moved, or suspects freed over transportation woes

VANCOUVER — The Supreme Court of British Columbia says staffing and space issues may see some criminal trials rescheduled or moved, or suspects released from custody, if they’re being held too far from the courthouse where they’re on trial.

Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes says in a notice on the court’s website that local police detachments used to hold suspects during trials if daily transport to and from a correctional centre was “not manageable.”

The notice says that practice changed last year when the RCMP and other law enforcement agencies could no longer provide “staff and space” to keep people in their custody, and some courthouses in smaller communities don’t have facilities to house suspects during trials.

It says the problem has been dealt with by the court’s sheriffs, often involving an accused being brought from a pretrial facility to the courthouse on a chartered airplane each day of their trial.