St. Albert-Edmonton MP Michael Cooper says it’s about time the federal government addressed Alberta’s shortage of judges.
On Thursday, federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould announced seven judicial appointments to Alberta’s superior courts to help fill vacant positions.
While this is good news for the province, which already has fewer justices per capita than the rest of the country, Cooper was critical of the minister’s timing.
Since taking office a little over a year ago, Wilson-Raybould has appointed only 15 judges – despite counting 61 vacancies across the country – citing the need for a more transparent and accountable selection process.
“While lawyers and judges, including the (Queen’s Bench) chief Justice of Alberta Neil Wittmann, begged and pleaded the minister to take action for months, her response was simply ‘You’re just going to have to wait for me to come up with a new process,’” said Cooper.
But according to the MP Thursday’s appointments were made using a list previously compiled by the former Conservative government.
“It was a list she could have used a year ago and she chose not to,” said Cooper.
The appointments were made as Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley announced the creation of 10 new superior court positions – nine on the Court of Queen’s Bench and one on the Court of Appeal.
The move was made to address the shortage of judges in the province. Despite being the fastest growing jurisdiction, only one new position has been approved by the federal government in the past 20 years.
It was also a reaction to the possibility of hundreds of court cases being thrown out due to delays.
Earlier this month, a first-degree murder suspect, Lance Matthew Regan, made a successful Jordan application and had his charges stayed by the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench.
Jordan is a Supreme Court decision that brings about sweeping changes to the framework that determines whether an accused has been tried within a reasonable time.
On Thursday, Ganley said the public had the right to be concerned about this ruling.
“I am too,” she said.
To avoid another case like Regan’s being thrown out she has instructed Alberta Crown prosecutors to triage cases and prioritize taking serious and violent crimes to trial.
Ganley recognized that the Crown alone cannot solve the issue of systematic delays and was thrilled to hear the news of the appointments mid-way through her press conference.
St. Albert criminal defence lawyers Brad Leebody and Dave Lloyd said the creation of new superior court positions and Thursday’s appointments are both “very good steps forward,” but more needs to be done to reduce delays.
“It’s a complex problem and it’s not going to be solved by the appointment of a bunch of judges,” said Leebody.
Both lawyers said the question should now turn to how to make the best use of these additional resources. They are calling on the government to continue to implement efficiencies, such as Court Case Management, in order to streamline Alberta’s justice system.
As per Thursday’s announcements there are 77 Court of Queen’s Bench positions (only 65 are approved and funded by the federal government) and 15 Court of Appeal positions (only 14 are approved and funded by the federal government).
There are three vacancies to existing positions, but 16 as per provincial legislation.
