Alberta’s Crown prosecutors consider walking off the job
Sarah Ryan - 21m ago
Global News
© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
The Alberta Crown Attorneys' Association, which represents more than 75 per cent of crown prosecutors in the province, held a virtual meeting Wednesday night to discuss potential job action.
Crown prosecutors represent victims of crime. They work for the community at large and are an integral part of the justice system.
"Our members are beyond frustrated with the government," explained president Dallas Sopko.
"We've been trying to get the ear of our government to address the crisis that currently exists in the justice system for years now."
During the last provincial election, the UCP promised to hire 50 new Crown prosecutors.
Read more:
‘It’s a crisis’: Shortage of Alberta Crown prosecutors means 1,200 serious files at risk of being stayed
In October 2019, then justice minister Doug Schweitzer was talking about combating rural crime when he said "from hiring more prosecutors to providing more funding for the rural Alberta response team, those are campaign commitments that we made and my direction from the premier is to get them done."
But things haven't improved, Sopko said, pointing to St. Paul where he said crime is high and Crowns are in short supply.
He said one prosecutor could be faced with juggling 30-40 trials a week, when a sustainable amount in other provinces is a quarter of that.
"Especially when we're working big cases, it's not unusual to be working 70 or 80 hours a week. We enjoy the job prosecutors do, but we're being asked to do to much and to take on too much, too soon."
Video: Shortage of Alberta Crown prosecutors means 1,200 serious files at risk of being stayed
The association recently wrote a letter to Premier Jason Kenney in a last ditch effort to allow the Crowns to start their own union. It explicitly states: "Your government's neglect has forced us to consider job action."
It outlines "crushing file loads, inadequate mental health supports and uncompetitive compensation" as reasons why Alberta currently has 37 vacant positions -- a dozen of those in Edmonton alone.
That work is being piled onto others as senior prosecutors leave for other jurisdictions.
"The risk always is that we come to court unprepared because we don't have time, or we don't have the experience to do what needs to be done," Sopko said.
"What can happen in those cases is an unjust result."
He said 3,000 cases are already so delayed the accused could walk because of the Jordan ruling from the Supreme Court. The ruling demands justice in a reasonable timeframe.
Read more:
Alberta justice minister addresses memo, defends new triage protocol for prosecutors
Another issue? Crowns in Alberta have been triaging cases for five years now - tossing viable cases right off the hop, and breaking that news to victims. It started under the NDP in recognition there weren't enough resources to handle all the cases.
"We have to go to them and say, 'It appears a crime was committed against you, but we don't have the resources, the government hasn't given us the money to deal with it. So, sorry, you're not going to get your day in court.' That's a really crushing thing for us to have to do."
The UCP vowed to eliminate the triage protocol years ago.
"The notion that criminals are getting off Scot-free, simply because we have an inadequate number of prosecutors is, to me, totally unacceptable," Kenney said in 2019.
Video: Alberta doubles number of Crown articling students
In response to the recent letter, Justice Minister Tyler Shandro declined an interview, but provided a written statement.
"I have instructed the Department of Justice to invite the Alberta Crown Attorneys’ Association to an enhanced consultation early next week to seek ways to collaboratively address the concerns highlighted in their correspondence," it said.
Sopko said that's already been done without success in the past.
"It seems at this point to be nothing more than a stall tactic."
He adds the only provinces where Crowns are not allowed to unionize independently are Alberta, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island.
"It's not all about money to prosecutors here, but at some point it's impossible to stay when there's an offer to do the exact same job somewhere else for up to 40 per cent more with less workload and more supports."
There are around 380 Crown prosecutors in Alberta. Sopko said the majority of them are could walk off the job within a month, crippling the justice system.
Alberta prosecutors meet to consider strike
The Alberta Crown Attorneys' Association (ACAA) will meet Wednesday evening to consider taking job action.
© Jason Franson/The Canadian PressA courtroom at the Edmonton Law Courts building.
Janice Johnston -
cbc.ca
The group, representing 380 Crown prosecutors across the province, sent a letter to Premier Jason Kenney on March 22 to address what it called "the crisis in the justice system" and the possibility of taking "drastic steps."
Copied on the letter to the premier were Tyler Shandro and Kaycee Madu, the current and former justice ministers
The association alleges that "chronic underfunding" of Alberta's prosecution service is coming to a head and that all attempts to meet with the current and former justice ministers had been rejected.
"We have been rebuffed by everyone else we approached in government with authority over our working conditions," the letter states. "Your government's neglect has forced us to consider job action."
Alberta Justice would only say that they would continue to work collaboratively with the association about its concerns.
Association president Dallas Sopko told CBC News that he and his colleagues feel like they've run out of options.
"As far as I know, it's the first meeting of its kind in the 50-year history of our association," Sopko said.
"We'll be talking about what our options are, we'll be getting advice, we'll be hearing from others in other jurisdictions about their experiences with strike and being on the precipice of a strike."
The ACAA said there is an ongoing and chronic shortage of prosecutors and a high rate of prosecutor turnover due to crushing workloads and pay that has not kept pace with inflation.
"We have seen a significant number of prosecutors leave the ACPS [Alberta Crown Prosecution Service] for places like British Columbia and Ontario, to the extent that the ACPS often seems like a farm team for other prosecution services," the letter states.
During the 2019 election campaign, Kenney promised to hire 50 new prosecutors. The ACAA said that as of March 22, there were still 37 vacancies.
"That means that the government is still coming up about 75 per cent short on this commitment three years later," the letter said, claiming that rural cases are especially hard hit, due to a lack of prosecutors and inexperienced lawyers.
"Every day, junior prosecutors are tasked with very serious cases, including jury trials involving child sexual assaults with relatively little training," the ACAA claims. "It is untenable to repeatedly replace experienced prosecutors with brand-new lawyers and expect them to carry the torch."
Evan McIntyre, an Edmonton criminal defence lawyer and vice-president of the Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association, said he's noticed a marked decline in prosecutor morale.
"The writing's been on the wall for a few years here," McIntyre said. "That's sort of manifested itself as an exodus of many senior people to other prosecution agencies."
Thousands of criminal cases at risk of being stayed
A month ago, Shandro told the Alberta Municipalities conference that the province has no criminal court cases at risk of being tossed because of unreasonable delay. At the time, defence lawyers and prosecutors rejected that claim.
A Supreme Court decision called Jordan puts hard timelines on what is considered unreasonable delay in getting a case from charge to trial.
For provincial court cases, the timeline is 18 months while superior court matters have up to 30 months.
The ACAA letter claims there are currently more than 2,000 serious and violent provincial court cases that exceed the presumptive Jordan ceiling and are at risk of being stayed, including child sex assaults, aggravated and domestic assaults and robberies. They claim another 1,000 provincial court cases outside the serious and violent category are also at risk.
"These numbers do not include the hundreds of serious and violent cases at risk in Queen's Bench, including murders," the letter states.
McIntyre thinks that would only be exacerbated if prosecutors initiated job action after two years of delays caused in part by the pandemic.
"The impact would be devastating. I think it would be incredible," McIntyre said. "If there was job action of that nature and further shutdowns, I think you would see many people having to wait months if not extra years to get their day in court."
The Alberta Crown Attorneys' Association (ACAA) will meet Wednesday evening to consider taking job action.
© Jason Franson/The Canadian PressA courtroom at the Edmonton Law Courts building.
Janice Johnston -
cbc.ca
The group, representing 380 Crown prosecutors across the province, sent a letter to Premier Jason Kenney on March 22 to address what it called "the crisis in the justice system" and the possibility of taking "drastic steps."
Copied on the letter to the premier were Tyler Shandro and Kaycee Madu, the current and former justice ministers
The association alleges that "chronic underfunding" of Alberta's prosecution service is coming to a head and that all attempts to meet with the current and former justice ministers had been rejected.
"We have been rebuffed by everyone else we approached in government with authority over our working conditions," the letter states. "Your government's neglect has forced us to consider job action."
Alberta Justice would only say that they would continue to work collaboratively with the association about its concerns.
Association president Dallas Sopko told CBC News that he and his colleagues feel like they've run out of options.
"As far as I know, it's the first meeting of its kind in the 50-year history of our association," Sopko said.
"We'll be talking about what our options are, we'll be getting advice, we'll be hearing from others in other jurisdictions about their experiences with strike and being on the precipice of a strike."
The ACAA said there is an ongoing and chronic shortage of prosecutors and a high rate of prosecutor turnover due to crushing workloads and pay that has not kept pace with inflation.
"We have seen a significant number of prosecutors leave the ACPS [Alberta Crown Prosecution Service] for places like British Columbia and Ontario, to the extent that the ACPS often seems like a farm team for other prosecution services," the letter states.
During the 2019 election campaign, Kenney promised to hire 50 new prosecutors. The ACAA said that as of March 22, there were still 37 vacancies.
"That means that the government is still coming up about 75 per cent short on this commitment three years later," the letter said, claiming that rural cases are especially hard hit, due to a lack of prosecutors and inexperienced lawyers.
"Every day, junior prosecutors are tasked with very serious cases, including jury trials involving child sexual assaults with relatively little training," the ACAA claims. "It is untenable to repeatedly replace experienced prosecutors with brand-new lawyers and expect them to carry the torch."
Evan McIntyre, an Edmonton criminal defence lawyer and vice-president of the Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association, said he's noticed a marked decline in prosecutor morale.
"The writing's been on the wall for a few years here," McIntyre said. "That's sort of manifested itself as an exodus of many senior people to other prosecution agencies."
Thousands of criminal cases at risk of being stayed
A month ago, Shandro told the Alberta Municipalities conference that the province has no criminal court cases at risk of being tossed because of unreasonable delay. At the time, defence lawyers and prosecutors rejected that claim.
A Supreme Court decision called Jordan puts hard timelines on what is considered unreasonable delay in getting a case from charge to trial.
For provincial court cases, the timeline is 18 months while superior court matters have up to 30 months.
The ACAA letter claims there are currently more than 2,000 serious and violent provincial court cases that exceed the presumptive Jordan ceiling and are at risk of being stayed, including child sex assaults, aggravated and domestic assaults and robberies. They claim another 1,000 provincial court cases outside the serious and violent category are also at risk.
"These numbers do not include the hundreds of serious and violent cases at risk in Queen's Bench, including murders," the letter states.
McIntyre thinks that would only be exacerbated if prosecutors initiated job action after two years of delays caused in part by the pandemic.
"The impact would be devastating. I think it would be incredible," McIntyre said. "If there was job action of that nature and further shutdowns, I think you would see many people having to wait months if not extra years to get their day in court."
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