News details

Connection







Lost password?

Latest news

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


<-- Back to archived news

N.B. prosecutors say recent sexual assault stay is evidence of resource shortage

01-03-2023

Urgent calls have been made to address the provincial criminal justice system after a decision was made to stay a sexual assault case due to the lack of prosecutors.

 

According to the New Brunswick Crown Prosecutors Association, the judge’s decision, made in Moncton last Friday, is directly linked to the shortage of resources.

 

“As prosecutors, that’s sort of worst-case scenario for us,” said Shara Munn, president of the New Brunswick Crown Prosecutors Association.

 

“What we do isn’t about wins and losses, what it is about is seeking justice.”

 

The association has repeatedly asked the provincial government for aid, said Munn, as members began to reach “crisis points.”

 

She said it’s “unfortunate” a file as important as sexual assault resulted in a stay.

 

As the system continues to grapple with low salaries relative to the law system, and a heavy workload, the association has warned there’s “potential” for more files to be stayed.

 

Resources

 

According to Munn, figures crunched indicate, to address the workload, they need an additional 40 prosecutors on the criminal side, and 10 family Crown counsel.

 

A request for an interview with New Brunswick Attorney General Hugh J.A. (Ted) Flemming was not granted to Global News.

 

“In New Brunswick, court decisions to stay a charge because of an unreasonable pre-trial delay are very exceptional,” a statement from Flemming reads.

 

“Public Prosecutions Services reviews every file that is stayed for delay, to ensure lessons are learned and the risk is reduced going forward.”

 

Set by the Supreme Court of Canada, the presumptive ceiling for a case in a provincial court is 18 months.

 

Munn noted this mark is meant to be a maximum, not something to be strived for.

 

“If you’re a victim and you’re waiting 18 months to have a matter heard and concluded, that’s 18 months where you can’t move on, you can’t maybe get the help you need, you can’t seek closure,” she said.

 

System underfunded, says prof

 

Nicole O’Byrne, an associate professor with the Faculty of Law at the University of New Brunswick, said there has been a chronic underfunding of the criminal justice system for decades.

 

Only now, the “chickens have come home to roost,” in part due to retirements and increases in tuition.

 

“Well, a lot of it boils down to money, you need to pay people fair wages, you need to have enough positions, you can’t hold back on judicial appointments for budgetary reasons,” O’Byrne told Global News Wednesday.

 

Perhaps the most substantial area in need of a cash infusion, according to O’Byrne, is the legal aid system.

 

“Legal aid funding has not kept up, so there is a shortage of Crown prosecutors, but their job is made more difficult when you have people who are charged with an offence who don’t have access to legal counsel, so they self-represent,” she stated.

 

“That drags things on, takes up more times, and the Crown prosecutors have to do even more heavy-lifting to make sure that the person on the opposing sides constitutional rights are respected.”

 

As for Munn, with a provincial budget expected in the coming weeks, she hopes government will commit funds to help the system from slipping further into crisis.

 

https://globalnews.ca/news/9520896/n-b-prosecutors-sexual-assault-stay-resource-shortage/