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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.
[ ...More ]Publication date : 2024-03-27
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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.
[ ...More ]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.
[ ...More ]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.
[ ...More ]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.
[ ...More ]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.
[ ...More ]Publication date : 2023-05-04
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Lawyers promise to drag Couillard and Moreau to court
13-07-2017
The president of LANEQ, Me Jean Denis, believes that the absence of an agreement was predictable since the special law did not allow a "real negoitation". (ARCHIVES THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Despite their four-month strike in the middle of the winter, lawyers and public notaries (LANEQ) will have to settle for the lowest wage increase in the entire public service. Unable to agree with Quebec, they promise to drag Philippe Couillard and Pierre Moreau before the courts.
The prolongation of negotiations provided for in the special law adopted at the end of February did not bear fruit. In his report filed with the Ministry of Labor and made public Thursday night, Mediator René Beaupré comes to the sad conclusion "that no matter has been agreed." "Unfortunately," he wrote, "it was not possible to induce the parties to reach an agreement on any of the issues at the beginning of the mediation process."
The special law, which provided for the continuation of negotiations up to 105 days, lays down in Article 40 the conditions of employment which will apply to lawyers. Their collective agreement is renewed, and their salary increase will be only 6.75% over five years. Far from the 9.15% granted at the end of 2015 for the same period to the common front of the Quebec civil servants.
"I am sorry that LANEQ did not reach an agreement with the government when it was possible to do so for 510,000 employees in the public and parapublic sectors," said Pierre Moreau, President of the Conseil du trésor, By press release.
Quebec has never wished to give its lawyers a status similar to that of crown prosecutors whose working conditions are determined by an independent committee.
LANEQ claimed a salary increase equivalent to that of prosecutors, ie 10% over four years. The lawyers were on the sidewalk from October 24, 2016 to March 1, 2017 to make their claims. The longest conflict in the history of the public service in Canada.
The president of LANEQ and its approximately 1100 members, Jean Denis, believes that "this dismal result" was predictable since the special law did not allow for "real negotiation". An appeal for bad faith negotiations has been filed against the government and the first hearing is to be held in September before the Administrative Labor Court. "LANEQ intends to give testimony in particular to Prime Minister Philippe Couillard, Treasury Board President Pierre Moreau, and Finance Minister Carlos Leitão," warns Denis.
