Connection
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
N.S. government to return to talks with Crowns, as controversial law paused
25-10-2019
Crown attorneys continue their protest outside the legislature in Halifax on Friday, Oct. 25, 2019. Most of the province’s Crown attorneys walked off the job on Wednesday in response to the province introducing legislation that would take away their right to arbitration. The provincial government is seeking an injunction in Nova Scotia Supreme Court that would force the Crowns back to the courtroom. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
HALIFAX — Nova Scotia's Liberal government today held off on enacting legislation that would have forced striking Crowns back to work, promising to return to the negotiating table next week.
Bill 203 passed into law late in the day, but Justice Minister Mark Furey says it isn't being proclaimed and the province will resume talks early in the week in hopes of resolving the wage dispute.
The minister says he believes the parties can "work towards a negotiated settlement," though a day earlier he'd accused prosecutors of putting their personal financial interests ahead of the needs of crime victims.
The legislation removes a negotiated right to binding arbitration the province had agreed to in 2016. In its place, it allows Crowns the right to strike so long as essential services are provided.
The Nova Scotia Crown Attorneys' Association says the law would strip them of all negotiating power, as all prosecutors are likely to be considered essential workers.
Perry Borden, the president of the association, said his union is expecting good faith negotiations.
This report by the Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2019.