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Shortage of prosecutors: towards abandoning prosecutions

Crown prosecutors fear the worst in the face of the crisis which is slowing down the functioning of the criminal justice system in New Brunswick. Calls for help have been made for two weeks.  Me Yves Duguay, Vice-President of the New Brunswick Association of Crown Prosecutors and prosecutor in Bathurst, admits that the situation has been worrying for a while.

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Publication date : 2024-03-27
B.C. prosecutors’ association raises security concerns about Vancouver courthouse following assault

The association that represents B.C.’s roughly 450 Crown prosecutors is raising safety concerns around an East Vancouver courthouse after a member was allegedly assaulted outside last week. "We’re reeling, this has really shaken us to the core to have one of our own attacked right here,” said BCCCA president Adam Dalrymple.

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Publication date : 2024-02-05
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


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Supreme Court ruling on trial delays ‘out of step with reality,’ senators say

14-06-2017

Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs Chair Senator Bob Runciman, left, with Senator George Baker. Runciman said the Supreme Court did not have enough data last year about the potential impact of its Jordan ruling “before it stepped off a cliff” and imposed the new trial timelines.  (ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

 

A group of senators slammed the Supreme Court of Canada for being “out of step with reality” and careening “off a cliff” in its attempt to curb trial delays by setting rigid deadlines the justice system can’t currently realistically meet.

 

The Senate committee on legal and constitutional affairs released a report Wednesday that makes 50 recommendations to speed up criminal trials, saying what’s needed is a complete rethink of the Canadian criminal justice system, not drop-dead timelines.

 

Sen. George Baker warned “tens of thousands” of criminal charges risk being tossed next year as a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling last July in a drug case called “Jordan,” which set 18-month deadlines for trials in provincial courts, and 30-month ceilings on trials in superior courts.

 

Baker, an independent appointed by a previous Liberal government, and Conservative Sen. Bob Runciman said the Supreme Court did not have enough data last year about the potential impact of its Jordan ruling “before it stepped off a cliff” and imposed the new trial timelines.

 

Yet the senate committee report says it is not the high court’s fault that despite rulings in 1990 and 1992 intended to curb delays, trial delays have become an endemic part of the system.

 

“Legislative solutions can take you only so far,” Runciman said. “It’s the legal culture we need to change. Delay is regarded as the norm. Cases are adjourned routinely for no good reasons.”

 

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/06/14/supreme-court-ruling-on-trial-delays-out-of-step-with-reality-senators-say.html