NDP aims to ease delays in court
Crown attorneys will be asked to focus on most serious cases
The Alberta government says it’s being forced to implement a “triage” system for Crown prosecutors and bump up funding for legal aid due to pressures on an overburdened court system.
And while the federal government announced seven new judges for the Court of Queen’s Bench and Court of Appeal in Alberta on Thursday, provincial Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said more positions on the bench need to be filled by Ottawa.
In a Thursday news conference at McDougall Centre, Ganley announced new measures as the province faces the consequences of the Supreme Court of Canada’s Jordan decision, which set out new guidelines for what constitutes a reasonable time for trial.
Charges in an Edmonton murder trial were stayed last month because it had taken more than five years to come to trial, and there are currently six other Jordan applications before Alberta courts, said Ganley.
The minister said prosecutors will focus on ensuring that cases such as aggravated assault, sexual assault and murder, as well as other serious charges, are dealt with quickly.
There will be an increased emphasis on bringing less serious cases to dispute resolution and alternative measures.
“I am confident they will make reasoned and principled decisions, but, make no mistake, some of these decisions will be very difficult,” said Ganley.
“The next few months will not be easy as we work to deal with systemic backlogs that have been building for decades.”
Ganley also announced the government will provide an additional $9.4 million to Legal Aid Alberta this year, raising its funding to $77.9 million.
The province also called on the federal government to appoint new judges to the Court of Queen’s Bench and the Court of Appeal. It says vacancies on the bench have been left open too long but there is also the need for additional judges in the province to match population growth.
The NDP cabinet has approved the creation of 10 new positions — nine on the Court of Queen’s Bench and one on the Court of Appeal — though only the federal government has the authority to fill the new spots.
Federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould announced Thursday that two judges have been appointed to the Court of Appeal and five to the Court of Queen’s Bench.
The federal announcement came in the midst of Ganley’s news conference and the minister welcomed it as “really good news,” though there are still 16 vacancies by the province’s reckoning
“We are really happy to see that,” said Ganley. “I think that shows they’re willing to work co-operatively with us.”
Ian Savage, president of the Calgary-based Criminal Defence Lawyers Association, said the government’s triage system and the new judges offer “some small relief” from the pressure in the short term.
But he said there is a “crisis” that also requires additional resources for court staff, legal aid and Crown prosecutors.
Savage said Court of Queen’s Bench cases of any length are already being scheduled for trial in 2018.
In the Jordan case, the Supreme Court said an unreasonable delay should be found in cases that take 18 months in provincial court or 30 months in a superior court to get to trial from the time an accused is charged.
He said Ganley is making a “gross underestimation” of the number of applications filed based on the Jordan ruling.
“I think there will be tens of these cases over the coming months, if not hundreds,” said Savage.
“We are going to see more cases stayed, whether they are murder cases or less high-profile cases, there will definitely be more stays.”
Savage said the problem in the court system stems back years under both the previous provincial and federal governments, but he also believes the NDP government has not adequately addressed the issue since taking office in 2015.
Ganley said it has been an ongoing concern the government has tried to deal with, but the Jordan decision in July has forced the issue to a head.
A recent study of Canada’s legal system by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute think-tank found Alberta has one of the lowest levels of criminal legal aid funding per crime in the country.
“Alberta has problems with its criminal justice efficiency,” noted the report, pointing out that the province has a high percentage of charges stayed or withdrawn, as well as a higher average length for criminal cases.
Wildrose justice critic Scott Cyr said he was glad to see new judges appointed and new positions created by the province but called for a “greater sense of urgency” from Ganley. “Our Crown prosecutors are doing a tremendous job in these difficult circumstances, but they are stuck between a rock and a hard place,” Cyr said in a statement.