I believe there would have been a preliminary hearing and then a trial which would have taken longer. The direct indictment allows them to have a set trial without delays and a pre-hearing. There must have been enough evidence against him to proceed as well.
Seems like a common thing in the Alberta court system. Few articles, unrelated to Ferland, state this was the new direction to speed up court times.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/touch/s...tml?id=8641154