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Increased number of homicides doesn’t bode well for overworked N.L. prosecutors, association says

There are 17 homicide cases before the courts in Newfoundland and Labrador, and the head of the association that represents local prosecutors says the higher-than-normal caseload will be difficult to handle.

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Publication date : 2023-09-07
Manitoba adds 25 Crown attorneys to prosecution service amid workload issues

The Manitoba government hopes to add about two dozen more prosecutors and assistants to the prosecution service, which attorneys say has been struggling to keep up amid workload and workforce issues. Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneys says province left group out of discussions.

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Publication date : 2023-06-26
Les Leyne: Premier David Eby takes on lawyers — again

The B.C. NDP government has introduced a one-page bill that bestows the right to join a union on the 350 lawyers who work for government. There’s a catch. It herds them into a union the government prefers, the Professional Employees Association, rather than allowing them to form their own.

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Publication date : 2023-05-06
‘Unfair labour practice’: B.C. government accused of blocking union bid by its own lawyers

Lawyers for the B.C. government say the province has ended negotiations with them ahead of legislation they claim aims to block their right to form their own union.

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Publication date : 2023-05-04
N.B. prosecutors say recent sexual assault stay is evidence of resource shortage

New Brunswick’s justice system is reaching a crisis point. Urgent calls have been made to address the provincial criminal justice system after a decision was made to stay a sexual assault case due to the lack of prosecutors. According to the New Brunswick Crown Prosecutors Association, the judge’s decision, made in Moncton last Friday, is directly linked to the shortage of resources.

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Publication date : 2023-03-01
Delays prompt judge to stay charges against man accused of sexual assault
Delays prompt judge to stay charges against man accused of sexual assault

Charges were stayed in Moncton provincial court Friday against a man accused of sexual assault, with the judge agreeing with the defence that the accused had waited too long to be tried. Meanwhile, New Brunswick Crown Prosecutors Association, representing Crown attorneys, saying staffing shortages in their ranks are at crisis levels.

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Publication date : 2023-02-24


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NDP’s rural crime fighting plan gets mixed reviews

12-03-2018

Alberta RCMP Deputy Commissioner Todd Shean announces a seven-point plan to help reduce rural crime in the province, in Edmonton, on March 9, 2018. ED KAISER / POSTMEDIA

 

Justice Minister and Solicitor General Kathleen Ganley said Friday the money will pay for 39 new RCMP officer positions focused on rural crime reduction, 40 civilian staff, 10 Crown prosecutors and new “bait” programs, including for farm equipment.  

 

It is in response to what some residents have described as a spike in rural property crime.

 

The issue has grown more heated since the acquittal of Saskatchewan farmer Gerald Stanley for the killing of Colten Boushie, with some rural residents suggesting it is legal to shoot someone to defend property.  

 

Lacombe County Reeve Paula Law welcomed news of the funding, but said Sunday she hopes it comes through “sooner than later” to help deal with the dramatic rise in property crimes plaguing her constituents.

 

“The rural way of life, where you left your keys in the vehicle or the neighbour wanted to stop in and borrow a tractor or a piece of equipment … it’s gone,” she said.

 

Law said that in meetings with Mounties from the five detachments that serve the central Alberta county, police said they are struggling to keep up. Lacombe and Red Deer County have committed to funding two new investigators for the Blackfalds detachment, but those positions have yet to be filled.

 

The reeve said they’ve also been pushing funding to rural crime watch groups, and holding information sessions about “environmental design” changes to make properties less vulnerable to would-be thieves. 

 

At the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties convention this spring, Law said the county plans to bring forward a resolution to lobby the provincial and federal governments for further support in tackling property crime, including sentencing reforms that would impose tougher penalties on repeat perpetrators.

 

Alberta Crown Attorneys’ Association president James Pickard said Sunday members are happy the government is taking action to address prosecutor shortages, but added it will continue to be difficult to recruit and retain rural prosecutors because of high caseloads and a government salary freeze. 

 

Around 20 prosecutors have left rural offices in the last 12 months, the association said, and while many of those positions have since been filled, it’s usually with less experienced people.  

 

However, there are concerns adding more police officers to do more investigations “will inevitably mean more files and more prosecutions,” potentially further burdening rural prosecutors. 

 

“We’ll have to wait and see how that plays out in terms of these new prosecutors. Will they be able to lessen the load on the regional Crowns in a notable way, or is it just addressing the new files being opened by the police with these new crime reduction units?”  

 

United Conservative Party house leader Jason Nixon, who lives in Sundre, said Friday he’s pleased the government is taking action on rural crime months after his party called for an emergency debate on the subject. 

 

“The announcement is a start but not enough,” he said. 

 

“I’m concerned the government only appears to think of this as a money issue. I think that is a product of the fact they’re not going out and talking to our communities.”

 

The “No. 1” thing the province can do to lessen the burden carried by local detachments is to improve the system for backfilling positions for officers on leave, he said. 

He was also critical of the government’s “triage” approach to cases.

 

“No matter how much money and capacity we put into the system, if our criminal justice system won’t take property crime seriously and continues to put these people back into our system without dealing with the issue that had them there in the first place, this is going to keep going on forever,” he said. 

 

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/ndps-rural-crime-fighting-plan-gets-mixed-reviews