News details

Connection







Lost password?

Latest news

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
Critical shortage of Crown attorneys has ‘gone on way too long’ and is hurting public safety

The Canadian Association of Crown Counsel, an umbrella group for thousands of Crown attorneys and government lawyers across the country is calling for a big boost in the number of provincial prosecutors in Newfoundland and Labrador.

[ ...More ]
Publication date : 2024-11-13
Most criminal cases in Ontario now ending before charges are tested at trial

More than half of the criminal charges laid by police in Ontario never make it to trial, according to data from Statistics Canada. The numbers paint a troubling picture of the province’s justice system.  More judges, staff, prosecutors and courtrooms needed, says Crown attorneys’ association.

[ ...More ]
Publication date : 2024-11-12


<-- Back to archived news

‘Incredibly damning allegation’: Cardinal case ignites feud between prosecutors, justice minister

21-06-2017

Comments made by Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley touched off a war of words with the Alberta Crown Attorneys’ Association.

 

Alberta's justice minister has been accused of making an "incredibly damning allegation" about discrimination in the Angela Cardinal court case and now finds herself in a pitched battle with the province's Crown prosecutors.

 

In a blistering four-page letter to Kathleen Ganley dated June 6, the president of the Alberta Crown Attorneys' Association defended the actions of the prosecutor who handled the case.

 

Cardinal was a 28-year-old Indigenous homeless woman who was sexually assaulted by Lance Blanchard in June 2014. When she testified at Blanchard's preliminary hearing in June 2015, Cardinal was incarcerated at the request of Crown prosecutor Patricia Innes.

 

The decision to remand Cardinal, not her real name, was strongly criticized by Ganley, who launched a pair of investigations to look into the case. But the minister's comments raised the hackles of the ACAA. In his letter, association president James Pickard noted the justice minister's public comments on the case suggested that Innes and provincial court judge Ray Bodnarek "may have been motivated by racial bias."

 

"We find this suggestion very concerning," Pickard wrote. "We have seen absolutely no evidence of any bias and we believe the implication you have made to be extremely serious. Such discrimination is an incredibly damning allegation and should not be raised without some basis."

 

Ganley fired back on June 12 in a two-page memorandum emailed to all Alberta Crown prosecutors, a copy of which was obtained by CBC News.

 

"I cannot and explicitly did not comment on the motivations of any individual person in the system or in this case," Ganley wrote.

 

Pickard, in his letter, also wrote that Ganley's public comments "do not appear to be founded on a fulsome understanding of the case."  

 

"It is our association's view that your comments have done little to foster respect for the criminal justice system or the important and difficult role that Crown prosecutors play within that system," Pickard wrote.

 

Justice minister responds

 

Ganley tried to calm the waters in her June 12 memorandum.

 

"I want to extend my support for the continued difficult decisions I know you have to make on a daily basis," Ganley wrote. "Your work is often thankless, but I want to provide my clear appreciation for taking on these challenges with bravery, integrity and perseverance."

 

At the same time, Ganley refused to back away from her harsh comments about the justice system, which she suggested treated Cardinal "like an offender herself."

 

"It is not easy on any of us to admit that the system did not meet the public's legitimate expectations," the minister wrote. "But if we do not admit that this was a bad outcome, we lose the opportunity to improve the system."

 

But Ganley said it is clear the justice system has a disproportionate impact on certain groups.

 

"These are clearly systemic issues not confined to individual actors," she wrote. "I strongly believe the justice system needs to confront these (systemic) issues."

 

Official complaints filed

 

CBC News has learned that four official complaints have been filed about Judge Ray Bodnarek with provincial court Chief Judge Terry Matchett.

 

"The chief will be referring all of the complaints to the judicial council," Ron Hewitt, executive director of the provincial court, told CBC News in an email. "Since one of the complaints is addressed to the judicial council, it makes sense to send all four to the council.

 

Hewitt would not say who made the complaints. Cardinal's family has told CBC News they have not filed their official complaints yet with the chief judge. Cardinal's sister-in-law planned to drop off hers at the courthouse Tuesday.

 

Calgary resident Todd Crawford filed a formal complaint about Bodnarek on June 5 after reading the story about Cardinal published on the CBC website. He shared the complaint letter with CBC News, and with the premier, the justice minister and the leader of the Official Opposition.

 

"The conduct detailed in the article is disturbing," Crawford wrote. "It appears Bodnarek violated this woman's human rights for his convenience."

 

"You need to fix this. It is not as simple as suspending or dismissing Bodnarek. This behavior is symptomatic of a deeper rot. … The only response I require is action."

 

Under the Judicature Act, the judicial council has the option to reprimand the judge, take corrective measures or determine no further action needs to be taken. The council can also refer the complaint for a judicial inquiry.

 

According to the Judicature Act, "the proceedings under this section are not public," so the outcome of any action taken by the judicial council would likely remain secret.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/angela-cardinal-kathleen-ganley-crown-prosecutors-1.4169582