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CACC Meets with UHM Voice of the Workers and Malta Government Lawyers
In 2022, UHM Voice of the Workers marked a significant milestone by negotiating the very first collective agreement for the Attorney General’s Office. The groundbreaking efforts of UHM Voice of the Workers have not gone unnoticed. Their achievements resonated across borders, drawing the attention of the Canadian Association of Crown Counsel (CACC). At a recent meeting on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association conference in Malta, representatives from the CACC engaged with UHM delegates to learn from their experiences.
[ ...More ]Publication date : 2025-04-11
A system in crisis: Rebuilding the dwindling Crown Attorney’s Office
With more files, more complex files and less resources, not surprisingly, Crown Attorneys are burning out and quitting. The lack of sufficient lawyers, especially experienced lawyers, has led to crisis in many provinces. Associations representing Crown Attorneys in Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have recently sounded the alarm...
[ ...More ]Publication date : 2025-03-14
Crown attorneys call on Manitoba government to help address ‘dangerously heavy caseloads’
The Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneys (MACA) is calling on the provincial government to help reduce mounting workloads that it says are making it difficult for prosecutors to meet their professional responsibilities. grievance it filed in April 2023. It says the grievance it filed back in April 2023 regarding 'dangerously heavy caseloads' won't be heard by an arbitrator until October 2025.
[ ...More ]Publication date : 2025-01-10
Preparing RCMP body-cam evidence for court will be monumental task, prosecutor says
The RCMP is phasing-in the use of body-worn cameras across the country and expects 90 per cent of frontline members to be wearing them within a year. Shara Munn, president of the New Brunswick Crown Prosecutors Association, said while the body-camera evidence will be great to have, it will also mean a huge influx of work for prosecutors.
[ ...More ]Publication date : 2025-01-06
N.L. government invests in 18 new Crown attorneys amid severe staffing crunch
Newfoundland and Labrador Justice Minister Bernard Davis announced Wednesday afternoon that the provincial government is investing nearly $24 million to improve the province's justice system.... The investment comes after CBC News reported in numerous stories that Crown attorneys in the province were "suffocating" from overwhelming workloads and a critical staffing shortage.
[ ...More ]Publication date : 2024-11-14
Newfoundland to add more Crown prosecutors
Newfoundland and Labrador has agreed to hire more Crown lawyers following cries of a shortage of prosecutors in the province. The “multi-year investment” will include the hiring of 18 new Crown lawyers, according to a news release.
[ ...More ]Publication date : 2024-11-13
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LANEQ lawyers and notaries backed by their Canadian colleagues
27-10-2016
In the midst of an unlimited general strike launched Monday, October 24, Les avocats et notaires de l'État québécois (LANEQ) announced the official support of the Canadian Association of Crown Counsel (CACC). The announcement came when negotiations between LANEQ and the government had been at a standstill for several months.
"We are proud to stand beside our Québec colleagues in this struggle to have the crucial role played by crown lawyers and notaries acknowledged. Not only are their claims entirely legitimate, but the type of negotiations they are asking for is in perfect step with what we advocate as best practice all across Canada. It is a system that is already in place in Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia. Crown counsel should have the same value in the eyes of the Québec government as they do elsewhere in the country," declared CACC president Rick Woodburn.
"Day after day, the crown lawyers and notaries in Québec put their expertise and skills to the service of upholding the law and the public interest. By ignoring our claims as it is today, the government is undermining the importance of our work and of its own rulings. It's unacceptable! We are asking the government to show good faith and continue to negotiate. Today, our colleagues from the rest of Canada are standing with us to call the government back to the table, and we are very pleased with this great show of support," added Jean Denis, president of LANEQ.
LANEQ wants to change the method of negotiating their working conditions, to allow for binding arbitration supported by a compensation committee with a chair chosen and appointed by the parties. The compensation committee's mandate would include assessing reasonable compensation, taking into account the government's capacity to pay. During the last negotiations, in 2011, after an unlimited general strike, the Québec government acknowledged the need to reform the collective bargaining regime for civil service lawyers and notaries.
Québec civil service and Agence du revenu du Québec lawyers and notaries launched an unlimited general strike on October 24 after the members voted 84% in favour. The strike has suspended work on provincial bills and regulations, legal opinions and representation in the courts.
About LANEQ
Les avocats et notaires de l'État québécois (LANEQ) represents over 1,100 lawyers and notaries working in all Québec government departments and organizations. Its mission is to promote and defend the interests of its members, principally by negotiating their working conditions. Crown lawyers and notaries work in the public interest by providing government representation in the civil, administrative and criminal courts, and they also serve as legal advisors and legislative drafters for government ministers and presidents of government organizations.
About the CACC
The Canadian Association of Crown Counsel (CACC) represents the interests of criminal and civil crown lawyers working for the ten provinces, the three territories and the federal government. It helps governments and the public understand issues involving Crown prosecutors and lawyers in the justice system, particularly as concerns their employment and working conditions.
