The criminal justice system in this country needs improvements. Even the Trudeau government acknowledges this, which is why the federal government introduced Bill C-75, a justice reform bill that attempts to speed up court processes both federally and provincially.
While these changes might help speed things up, it doesn’t address the biggest problem: the need for more judges. The lack of judges is a problem that’s persisted for years in Alberta and the longer it continues, the worse the problem becomes. It robs Albertans of access to timely justice and across the country hundreds of cases have been stayed due to unreasonable delays.
St. Albert MP Michael Cooper along with MP Michelle Rempel launched a new petition to urge the federal government to fill current vacancies, citing a dozen positions yet to be filled. Since Cooper and Rempel’s announcement, a new Court of Queen’s Bench Judge was appointed in Alberta, but the province still needs at least another 11 judges to fill the current vacancies.
It should be a fairly simple solution, but the Liberals have dragged their feet on this issue like many others related to criminal justice. Bill C-75 will include zombie law legislation, but similar legislation was introduced a year ago and hasn’t had any movement in the House of Commons.
A well-functioning justice system is crucial in any democracy. That the federal government has been slow to act on such obvious issues is an embarrassment. The rule of law is a fundamental principle in Canada and the government has an obligation to all Canadians to keep our justice system running effectively and efficiently.
Lightbulb moment?
At the next regular council meeting on April 16, it’s expected St. Albert City Council will consider a motion from Mayor Cathy Heron to have city staff look into the feasibility of a city-owned utility corporation. The new utility corporation could handle water distribution, wastewater, solid waste collection and generation and distribution of heat and electricity.If passed, city staff will need to develop a business case by March of next year. The idea is to have the utility corporation generate additional city revenue in the form of a dividend. Supposedly this change would not increase rates.
It is certainly an idea worth exploring, but with a heavy dose of skepticism. There is no free money, any change in one area could have unforeseen changes in other areas. There will always be winners and losers in this type of transition. If the City of St. Albert is the winner, who are the losers?
This is not the type of change to be made lightly and if this motion passes, it will be on the minds of many in the city for the next year. Along with the franchise fee proposal, there is a lot of concern from residents and businesses about new costs that may be passed onto them. It's good that council is looking for additional revenue, but perhaps they need to look into cost cutting as well.
