The stay has been lifted and an appeal granted in the case of two men charged with fraud and breach of trust in 2015.

Brian Frederick Stone and Kevin Barnes, senior managers with the Canadian Coast Guard, are accused of using government purchase orders to purchase components that they used to develop a piece of Maritime tracking equipment called the Pathfinder.

It is alleged that the men profited personally from the sales of the machinery, and that more than $171,000 worth of parts and services were charged to the Coast Guard.

In February of 2019, the defendants applied for a stay of proceedings, arguing their right to trial within a reasonable time, as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, had been breached.

The stay was granted in September 2019 but the Crown challenged which delays were and were not attributable to the defendants. The Apeals Court ruled that the delays fell within the guidelines by three months.

It is now up to the Crown to decide whether to proceed.