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Applying the Jordan framework: Are courts placing too much of the burden on the defence?
In R v. Jordan, the Supreme Court put a hard cap on the duration of criminal trials — sending a thrill of panic through the justice system in the process. The ruling is roughly two and a half years old now. Time for the training wheels to come off.Now, that backlog of pre-Jordan charges has been largely cleared — the transitional period is over. But Crown and defence lawyers alike report that trial times aren’t speeding up; statistics cited in a recent Law Times article show that in the Ontario Court of Justice, average times to disposition and the number of court appearances have not diminished since Jordan. If the SCC intended the ruling as a salutary shock to the system, it didn’t work.So what happens now?
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 2018-12-18
RCMP’s forensic firearm testing backlog adding delays to justice system
The RCMP’s forensics labs are taking nearly four times longer to analyze firearms than they did just four years ago, adding delays to a criminal justice system under pressure to speed up after a recent Supreme Court decision.
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 2018-12-16
Court delays persist, despite Jordan
The Supreme Court of Canada decision in Jordanand the problems it tried to address are still top of mind in the criminal courts in Ontario nearly two-and-a-half years after it was released.
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 2018-12-03
The performance pay saga reaches a settlement
The issue is the prorating of performance pay in relation to pre-promotion period for the year in which lawyers are promoted. If a lawyer was eligible for performance pay and was promoted during the year, the Employer, rather than pay out a prorated performance pay for the period pre-promotion, paid out nothing at all regardless of your performance rating for the year. The AJC originally filed a grievance in 2011 and in response to that grievance, TB had conceded in the context of the adjudication hearing that pre-promotion service should be recognized. Unfortunately, the adjudicator originally disregarded TB's concession in his decision of 2015, requiring the AJC to file an application for judicial review, which eventually resulted on December 22, 2016 in a remedy limited to the right to pre-promotion performance pay for the year 2010-2011. Thus, the AJC filed another policy grievance on July 27th 2016. The hearing was scheduled for October 2018. We are pleased to announce that we now have a signed Memorandum of Settlement on this matter with TB.
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 2018-10-30
Not all Questions are Good Questions: Avoiding Discriminatory Interview Practices
Much ink has been spilled over a recent decision by the Commission de la fonction publique (the "Commission") on the topic of discriminatory interview practices. In Association des procureurs aux poursuites criminelles et pénales et Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales[1], the Commission found that the plaintiff had been discriminated against when she was denied a position due to her pregnancy.
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 2018-10-11
Federal government facing pushback over bill to transform justice system
One thing that both the prosecution and the defence seem to agree on is that the federal government’s push to cut preliminary inquiries in most criminal cases will not solve the long-standing problem of delays in the criminal justice system.
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 2018-10-01
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Strike of Quebec lawyers, notaries leaves provincial lawmakers in the lurch
24-10-2016
Quebec government lawyers and notaries form a picket line at the courthouse Monday, Oct. 24, 2016 in Montreal. The group, which has been working without a contract for over a year began a general unlimited strike to push contract negotiations. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)
Lawyers and notaries who work for the Quebec government began a general strike today, grinding the drafting of provincial bills to a halt.
The 1,100 members of the union Les avocats et notaires de l'État québécois (LANEQ) have been without a collective agreement for a year and half.
François Desroches-Lapointe, who is on the union's executive board, thinks the province will try to resolve the dispute quickly. Bills must be written before the National Assembly's Nov. 4 deadline or they can't be passed this legislative session.
"Of course there is a strategic decision behind the timing," Desroches-Lapointe said.
The union says the strike leaves lawmakers paralyzed at a time when dozens of measures are waiting to be pushed ahead — such as the provincial rules on dangerous dogs, promised since the summer.
"The government has many law projects it wants to present in this session. If they're not ready, they're going to have to wait. It could freeze the National Assembly's work," Desroches-Lapointe said.
Crown prosecutors are not among those going on strike.
Ready for long-term strike
During the strike, legal advice and representation for the province will be suspended.
Desroches-Lapointe says the union wants to change the way it negotiates with the province.
It wants an independent third-party committee appointed by both parties to decide on disagreements.
"As we are the government's lawyers and notaries, we don't want to be in conflict with the government every three years, when we have to negotiate our work condition," Desroches-Lapointe said.
Union members marched and held rallies Monday at courthouses across the province.
Desroches-Lapointe says the union is ready for a long-term strike, if necessary.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/lawyers-strike-quebec-1.3818279
