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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.
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 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...
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 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.
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 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.
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 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.
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 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.
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 2024-11-13
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Alberta to invest $14.5-million to ease court delays
09-03-2017
Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said she is open to a proposal from some provinces to scrap preliminary inquiries to ease court delays, but warned the idea lacks consistent support across the country. PATRICK DOYLE/THE CANADIAN PRESS
After prosecutors revealed they had to drop 200 cases due to a lack of resources, the Alberta government says it will invest $14.5-million in the criminal-justice system to hire more Crown prosecutors and support staff.
The move comes after The Globe and Mail reported on a new "triage protocol" in the province that asks prosecutors to consider whether securing a conviction is worth the time and expense. It was crafted in response to a Supreme Court of Canada ruling last July known as R. v Jordan that set strict time limits for criminal proceedings.
Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said on Thursday she is open to a proposal from some provinces to scrap preliminary inquiries to ease court delays, but warned the idea lacks consistent support across the country.
"I haven't necessarily closed the door, but I want to point out that discussions around getting rid of preliminary inquiries [have] been very controversial," Ms. Wilson-Raybould said on Thursday after testifying at the Senate's legal and constitutional affairs committee, which is studying the issue of court delays.
"There isn't a consistency of opinion across the country in terms of whether or not that's a good thing to do. Some jurisdictions really value the idea of having and continuing to maintain preliminary inquiries."
Alberta is one of two provinces in which a judge has thrown out a first-degree murder charge because of delay since the Supreme Court decision.
Alberta's NDP government said the $14.5-million investment will be in the upcoming budget and cover expenses such as hiring 35 Crown prosecutors and another 30 court clerks. The positions are in addition to the 15 Crown prosecutors currently being recruited, the government said.
"In light of the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in Jordan, this new investment is more important than ever," Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said in a release.
But the Alberta Crown Attorneys' Association said it does not believe the positions will bring caseloads down to manageable levels, because the jobs are not new and prosecutors are being asked to take on new responsibilities.
It said 35 existing positions were not filled as prosecutors retired or resigned since 2015.
"While we welcome the filling of the 35 existing and vacant Crown Prosecutor positions, we hope the Government will accept our submission that an additional 50 Crown Prosecutors are needed to meet the Prosecution Service's trial court responsibilities," the association said in a release.
Ms. Wilson-Raybould said she is open to a session with provinces focused on how to respond to the new timelines.
She also announced the appointment of Tracey Clements, a partner with Stewart McKelvey law firm in Charlottetown, as a judge in the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island.
Ms. Clements is the first judge appointed under a revamped judicial advisory committee process, which includes members of the public selected through an open process. Ms. Wilson-Raybould said other appointments are imminent and her government has now appointed 40 judges, with 60 vacancies left in superior courts.
Ms. Wilson-Raybould said there is no "silver bullet" to solve court delays, but her government is engaged on a number of fronts, including talking with provinces and territories and reviewing the criminal justice system, including sentencing reform.
She said mandatory-minimum sentences contribute to court delays because they eliminate the opportunity for prosecutors to look for agreements to avoid trials.
"There is a place for judges to exercise their discretion when sentencing an individual, and I have that in my mind when we're reviewing mandatory minimum penalties," she said.
