A Manitoulin Island man is no longer facing charges of criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a judge ruled delays in the case coming to trial was a violation of his rights.
This case goes back to June 2012 when 49-year-old Wesley Gatchell was killed when a crane he was using for work tipped over and hit him. The Ministry of Labour charged the business owner for failing to ensure the crane was in good condition in April 2014. The OPP charged the man with criminal negligence causing bodily harm in September 2014, but a series of delays meant the trial wouldn’t start until October 2017.
The judge says the OPP shouldn’t have waited for the MOL charges were dealt with before laying their own charges, stating it was unfair.