Courts to get ‘triage desks’
Reforms aim to streamline civil cases
CA L GA RY — The provincial government is moving ahead with reforms designed to streamline the civil courts and increase access to justice for litigants.
Officials are considering several measures, but one already approved by Justice Minister Jonathan Denis is a “triage desk” in courthouses that give civil litigants information about where to take their case. “It will offer different options,” Denis said.
For example, someone with a landlord-tenant dispute would be told about the province’s Residential Tenant Dispute Resolution Service as a possible alternative to going to court. Steering matters away from court can free up court time and potentially spare litigants the expense of a lawyer.
The government is still deciding which courthouses will get triage desks and how they’ll be staffed, but Denis said he expects to make a formal announcement by the summer.
The government will also follow through on its plan to raise the limit for provincial court civil matters to $50,000 from the current $25,000 ceiling.
Rules and procedures in the provincial court’s civil division — still known informally as small-claims court — are less complex and don’t require lawyers. Raising the monetary threshold for provincial court will allow more people to competently represent themselves without the expense of a lawyer. Hearing more civil matters in provincial court could also shrink caseloads in Court of Queen’s Bench, where procedures are more complex, Denis said.
“This could well take pressure off the system. I think it’s headed the right way,” said Donna Purcell, president of the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association.
Access to justice has been a significant issue in Alberta’s criminal courts — particularly after lengthy delays prompted a judge in Airdrie to stay charges against a man accused of sexual assault. The botched prosecution prompted the government to conduct a review that made 17 recommendations aimed at reducing delays in criminal court.
Purcell said the provincial government’s efforts to lessen the burden on civil courts are hobbled by a shortage of judges in the Court of Queen’s Bench — a federal responsibility.
The federal government recently appointed four judges to fill vacant positions, but the province has been lobbying Ottawa to create four more positions on the bench to keep pace with Alberta’s population growth.
The legal profession is more dominated now by large firms that specialize in certain areas of law. The result has been fewer lawyers going into certain areas of practice and fewer lawyers outside major centres.
“It’s actually hard to find a family lawyer in Alberta,” said Gillian Marriott, who teaches family law at the University of Calgary.
“We need to deal with the supply issue.”
It’s easier said than done, considering law students are free to choose their area of practice.
Ian Holloway, dean of the University of Calgary’s faculty of law, said part of the problem is a lack of articling positions for students who are considering specializing in an area such as family law.
While the legal profession may not be able to tell people what type of law and where to practise it, it can create incentives.
U of C’s law school is part of a partnership that places students at law firms in Medicine Hat for the summer. The aim of the program is to show the potential benefits of starting out in a smaller community, such as gaining experiences earlier than they might at a large firm in a larger centre.