A couple of things need to be said. The first is that if we are to make constitutional guarantees, as we have, then we also need to provide some means by which those constitutional guarantees can be met. The simplest and most straightforward way to do that is to allow complainants to have their constitutional rights protected by virtue of legal representation. The idea of separating a constitutional guarantee from standing to enforce that constitutional guarantee worries me quite considerably, for reasons I articulated in the general article I mentioned.
In respect of scheduling and whether this makes things even more cumbersome and raises concerns about, for example, Jordan's principle with respect to the right to a trial within a fair period, there is no question that courts are currently wrestling with the Jordan paradigm. There are a number of things that can be done in respect of that in terms of providing better resourcing, appointing more judges, ensuring that crown counsel are properly resourced, and at the provincial level ensuring that legal aid is properly funded. I would suggest that to deprive the complainants of their charter rights, including their right to legal representation, as a fix to the problems of Jordan would be a very poor fix indeed.