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PC Justice Critic Calling for Review of Staffing Levels in Crown Attorney’s Office
The Newfoundland and Labrador Crown Attorneys Association says some prosecutors have up to 200 cases on their plate, and sometimes work until early morning preparing for a trial. PC Justice Critic Helen Conway Ottenheimer believes that Crown attorneys are too important a player in the justice system to allow shortcomings in staffing to impact their ability to always be at the top of their game.
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 2024-08-12
More Crown lawyers needed to tackle increasingly complex cases, says head of association
The head of the association that represents Newfoundland and Labrador prosecutors is calling for the Newfoundland and Labrador government to invest in Crown attorneys to help shoulder a growing number of increasingly complex cases. PC MHA Helen Conway Ottenheimer said she's heard the association's concerns and wants the government to launch a review into Crown resources, including staffing.
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 2024-08-11
Crown Attorneys Plead For More Staff to Match Rising Crime Rates
Shawn Patten, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Crown Attorneys Association,... notes while crime is increasing, the number of prosecutors has not been adjusted to deal with it. He’s calling on government to correct the imbalance in the name of public safety.
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 2024-08-03
N.B. reaches tentative deal with Crown prosecutors union
The New Brunswick government says it has struck a tentative collective agreement with the union representing the province’s Crown prosecutors. In a news release, the province said the details of the agreement will be confidential until it is ratified.
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 2024-07-17
Crown prosecutors vote 99% in favour of strike action amid labour shortage, system 'crisis'
New Brunswick Crown prosecutors and family court Crown counsel have voted 99 per cent in favour of strike action. They have been in contract talks with the provincial government for more than a year and warn the "crisis" facing the criminal justice system is growing, due to recruitment and retention problems.
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 2024-05-28
Pénurie de procureurs : vers l’abandon de poursuites
Les procureurs de la Couronne craignent le pire devant la crise qui ralentit le fonctionnement du système de justice pénale au Nouveau-Brunswick. Des appels à l’aide ont été lancés depuis deux semaines. Me Yves Duguay, vice-président de l’Association des procureurs de la Couronne du Nouveau-Brunswick et procureur à Bathurst, avoue que ça fait un moment que la situation est inquiétante.
[ ...Suite ]Date de parution : 2024-03-27
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B.C. government lawyers fight for right to unionize on their own terms
21-11-2022
David Carrigg
Night view of Parliament building in Victoria B.C. PHOTO BY JONGHYUNKIM /PNG
B.C. government lawyers taking the province to court over right to chose which union to join
Lawyers who work for the B.C. government writing legislation, providing legal advice and representing government in civil litigation want the right to join a union of their choice.
On Monday, the B.C. Government Lawyers Association said that 75 per cent of the government’s 350 lawyers had signed cards asking that the association be allowed to represent them as its proposed new union.
These lawyers are not unionized, under the 1973 Public Service Labour Relations Act.
The provincial government is prepared to allow them to unionize, but only if the Professional Employees Association represents them in bargaining. Instead, the lawyers want their own association to negotiate for them.
The Professional Employees Association represents nearly 1,300 people working as foresters, engineers, agrologists, geoscientists, psychologists and others in the B.C. government.
B.C. government-paid lawyers working as Crown prosecutors belong to the B.C. Crown Counsel Association, which negotiates for them.
Margo Foster, secretary of the BCGLA, said that the provincial government’s Bill 10 — which her members helped write — permitted workers to choose which union they belonged to.
Bill 10 requires employers to recognize a union if more than 55 per cent of employees have signed on.
“We are a diverse and predominantly female group of employees, yet we are paid less and have less job security than our Crown counsel peers,” Foster said.
“It’s a little-known fact that we can be simply fired at any time without cause. We should be able to do our job without fear of reprisal. If the employer says we aren’t doing our jobs properly, that should be decided by an independent arbitrator, if necessary.”
The lawyers’ association, formed in 1992, is taking its case to the Supreme Court of B.C. — with a five-day trial set to begin on Feb. 6, 2023.
Responding to the lawyers, B.C. Premier David Eby said Monday that his “government, of course, supports the rights of people to organize and I’m sure I’ll hear more about that soon.”
