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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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Crown Attorneys Plead For More Staff to Match Rising Crime Rates
03-08-2024
The people in the province’s justice system who play a key role in courtrooms say increasing rates and complexities of crime are leaving them swamped with work, and they’re calling on government to staff up.
Statistics Canada recently published data which shows rising rates of crime nationally and provincially.
Homicides, for example, are up significantly in Newfoundland and Labrador, ranging from two to almost 10 a year over the past decade, while extortion cases saw the biggest jump in numbers from just 19 reports in 2015, to 202 in 2023.
Vehicle thefts are up by about 30 per cent over that period, with notable spikes in other crimes as well.
Shawn Patten, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Crown Attorneys Association, says prosecutors don’t always have the luxury of asking the judge for more time to present their case, and often work until the wee hours preparing for trials.
That’s due in large part, he says, to a shortage of experience Crown attorneys.
“That is what we’re seeing — overworked lawyers trying their best to protect the public,” he said. “But that’s a slippery slope. We’ve seen many talented Crown attorneys move on to other areas of practice — not because they don’t enjoy being a prosecutor but because they’re often overwhelmed with the workload.
“And by losing talented lawyers, especially those with experience, we end up with a pool of more junior lawyers with less experience being asked to handle not only their own high workload, but also that of their former colleagues.”
Patten notes while crime is increasing, the number of prosecutors has not been adjusted to deal with it.
He’s calling on government to correct the imbalance in the name of public safety.
https://vocm.com/2024/08/03/crown-lawyers-workload/
