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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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N.L. government invests in 18 new Crown attorneys amid severe staffing crunch
14-11-2024
Provincial government investing nearly $24M to improve justice system
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, including adding 18 new Crown attorney positions.
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.
Davis told reporters Wednesday that six new crown attorneys will be added each budget year for the next three years, with the first batch to be hired next year.
"Obviously we want to make the system as strong as we possibly can, and putting Crowns in place, increasing the number of Crowns is an important piece to that," said Davis.
The $24-million investment also includes adding 25 correctional officers, 14 deputy sheriffs and a court security manager for Labrador.
Davis also says funding will go toward digital upgrades for the entire justice system. This includes updating technology in the province's courthouses, something Crown attorney Shawn Patten says is antiquated.
"A lot of the technology in the courthouses, it's obsolete and we need new and better material to help advance not only the prosecution, but as well any evidence defense wants to present," said Patten, who is the president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Crown Attorneys Association.
"Right now we're hindered by the technology."
'Six each year looks great'
A national umbrella group for thousands of Crown attorneys and government lawyers previously told CBC News that the provincial justice department should increase the number of Crown attorneys in the province by 25 to 30 positions.
Patten says morale is low among Crown attorneys. He says some lawyers are juggling over 300 files due to ongoing staffing shortages, and he previously told CBC News that there are fewer lawyers handling double the file load in the St. John's region compared to a decade ago.
Although the provincial government has only committed to six Crown attorneys each budget year, it's a number that puts Patten at ease.
"Six each year looks great. I mean, we're not here to say that's not a good thing," he said, adding the new positions will help reduce file loads for many lawyers feeling burnout.
Progressive Conservative justice critic Helen Conway Ottenheimer says the new positions are welcome, but she called the measure reactive.
"I still think that that is not going to really effectively address the problem," she said. "I don't want to seem ungrateful, because we are grateful that they acknowledge that there's a problem here."
Davis says recruitment efforts for the 18 new Crown attorneys begin immediately. As for retaining lawyers who are feeling overworked, he says the government has already increased lawyer salaries and is offering retention bonuses to people taking positions in northern communities.
"I'm not saying that that's the full answer," he said. "We know that we're going to work with our key stakeholders to find solutions that, if this is not working well, let's find a way we can make it work."
