New ‘triage’ system aims to ease pressures on overburdened courts
CALGARY 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 Thursday announced seven new judges for the Court of Queen’s Bench and Court of Appeal in Alberta, provincial Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said more positions on the bench need to be filled by Ottawa.
In a news conference on Thursday, 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 would 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.
Ganley also announced the province would provide an additional $9.4 million to Legal Aid Alberta this year, raising its funding to $77.9 million.
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 five judges had been appointed to Court of Queen’s Bench and two elevated to the Court of Appeal.
The new Queen’s Bench judges are Bonnie Bokenfohr, Kevin Feehan and George Fraser from Edmonton, along with James Eamon and Jolaine Antonio from Calgary.
The two Queen’s Bench judges going to the Court of Appeal are Michelle Crighton of the Edmonton division and Jo’Anne Strekaf of the Calgary division.
The federal announcement came in the midst of Ganley’s news conference and the minister called it “really good news,” though there are still 16 vacancies by the province’s reckoning.
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 ” of the pressure in the short term.
He said Ganley is making a “gross underestimation” of the amount of applications based on the Jordan ruling.
“I think there will be tens of these cases over the coming months, if not hundreds,” said Savage.
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.
A recent study of Canada’s legal system by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute think-tank found Alberta had one of the lowest levels of criminal legal aid funding per crime in the country.