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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
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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...
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[ ...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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No quick fix for Nova Scotia’s slow court system
24-11-2016
Rick Woodburn is a Crown prosecutor in Halifax and president of the Canadian Association of Crown Counsel. (CBC)
The planned expansion of a program that diverts people accused of minor crimes from Nova Scotia's courtrooms will not fix long delays in an overburdened system, according to a Crown prosecutor in Halifax.
It's the growing number of major crimes like murder and weapons offences that slow the system down, not minor offences usually covered by the restorative justice program, said Rick Woodburn, president of the Canadian Association of Crown Counsel. The group represents the interests of Crown prosecutors and Crown civil lawyers across the country.
"They'll tote quick fixes, but ultimately we need the resources to make this thing work," Woodburn told CBC's Information Morning.
"It's just a numbers game. If you have five cases and one judge, he can't hear all of them."
Restorative justice is a way of diverting people not charged with serious, violent or sexual crimes from the court system. It typically involves young offenders and victims reconciling their differences through face-to-face meetings or coming together as a group.
Earlier this week, Justice Minister Diana Whalen said she was optimistic that expanding the program to include adults would keep some cases away from the court and relieve some of the pressure to get cases heard more quickly.
Serious crimes on the rise
Woodburn said that's not a fix. He said more time and effort are needed to address the rising number of major crimes.
In 2014-15, the Crown in Halifax prosecuted 24 homicides, 54 attempted murders and nearly 2,000 weapons charges. That's up from zero homicides, 14 attempted murders and about 1,000 weapons charges in 2006-07, said Woodburn.
"We just don't have the resources"
Along with the increase in serious crime, there's also a lot more evidence to sift through and more time being spent in court.
At one time, a half-empty box of evidence sat on Woodburn's desk. Today there are six boxes of material for each homicide waiting to be examined.
"There's more disclosure, electronic disclosure, expert reports that have to be gone through," he said.
"Impaired driving for example used to take a half day. They now take two days. Homicides that used to take two days or a week now take four to five weeks."
Woodburn said the only way to solve the problem is to put more money into the justice system, hire more lawyers, court staff, judges and sheriffs.
"Have they put money in? Yes. But have they put the money in to keep pace with the crimes that are being committed? No, they're not, it's clear. We just don't have the resources."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/restorative-justice-crown-prosecutor-halifax-1.3865364
