Section 11(b) of the Charter states,

11. Any person charged with an offence has the right…

(b) to be tried within a reasonable time;

The Supreme Court of Canada affirmed in R. v. Finta the principles outlined in R. v. Askov, indicating that 11(b) included the right to a speedy trial,

Two elements must be assessed under s. 11(b): the length of the delay, and its reasonableness. If the delay is prima facie excessive, it is necessary to go on to consider whether it is nonetheless reasonable. Reasonableness may depend on a variety of factors, including the prejudice caused by the delay. Absent waiver, a certain prejudice in a long‑delayed trial may be inferred if not rebutted by the Crown. Here, the delay was prima facie excessive and unreasonable and entitled the accused to the benefit of s. 11(b).

In June 2005, Ontario passed the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA).  That same year, Honourable R. Roy McMurtry, Chief Justice of Ontario, headed an advisory report on making courtrooms more accessible.  The Attorney-General in this province then followed with an accessibilty plan launched last year.

But courtrooms may be facing a more significant problem [the obvious pun was deliberately avoided for sensitivity reasons].

Sheena Starky explained in a report for the Library of Parliament,

In 2004, approximately 6.8 million Canadian adults ages 20 to 64 were overweight, and an additional 4.5 million were obese.(1) Roughly speaking, an adult male is considered overweight when his body weight exceeds the maximum desirable weight for his height, and obese when his body weight is 20% or more over this desirable weight.  A similar guideline holds true for women, but at a threshold of 25% rather than 20%.  Dramatic increases in overweight and obesity among Canadians over the past 30 years have been deemed to constitute an “epidemic.”

A Texas court is facing this challenge today, as a woman charged with first-degree murder cannot even fit through the front door of her home,

She was allowed to remain in bed, on a personal recognizance bond, because she couldn’t be put in jail.

“Whatever the county and court system has to do in reference to the death of this child, we’ll do it,” Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra said at that time. “We can’t let someone’s physical disability stand in the way of justice.”

While he and Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño promised yesterday that Rosales would be prosecuted, “they remained mute about the details of that process,” reports the Monitor in another article.

Rosales can’t be put in jail, even if she could fit through the doorway of her home, because she needs medical care…

If a similar case was brought in Canada, it’s unlikely that any buildings could be brought to code in a timely enough manner.

This might rise to teleconference options that have been discussed in other contexts, but such options would have to be examined by the courts first.