Canada’s Justice Minister announced the appointment of six federal judges in Alberta Friday morning, but concerns still remain over a lack of judges at both the upper and provincial court levels.
Two new judges were appointed to the Alberta Court of Appeal, one in Calgary and one in Edmonton. Another four judges were appointed to the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, three in Edmonton and one in Calgary.
The former president of the Criminal Trial Lawyers’ Association said while the addition of new judges is good news, vacancies still remain and that means longer wait times getting to trial.
“When we don’t have enough judges filling those seats, it automatically means backlogs with respect to access to justice,” Shannon Prithipaul said.
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In some cases, the delay has led to lawyers asking for a stay in proceedings, arguing Charter rights have been violated because of how long it’s taken to get to trial.
With Friday’s appointments, there are still two vacancies in the Court of Appeal, one in Edmonton and one in Calgary. Four vacancies remain at the Court of Queen’s Bench, two in Edmonton, one in Calgary and one not yet assigned to a municipality.
Plus, one of the judges appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench Friday is currently a judge with the Provincial Court of Alberta, adding another vacancy at the provincial court level. Prithipaul said this move only adds stress to an already stretched system.
“There are vacancies and the need is pressing there too,” Prithipaul said. “In the last two years, I would say, it has become almost urgent.
“The NDP government has to move on that. I know they have been sort of quick to point the fingers at the federal government, and yes, the federal government had to appoint judges too, but so does the province.”
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In a statement sent out Friday afternoon, Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said she believes the appointments are a good first step in addressing the pressures faced by Alberta courts.
“I will continue to work with my federal counterpart, Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, to ensure that Alberta has the appropriate number of federally-appointed judges to provide access to justice within the province.”
Ganley was tight-lipped when asked about filling vacancies at the provincial level.
“We are working expeditiously. I can’t tell you any more than that,” she said.
“I am hoping to have some more news for you in the not-too-distant future.”
Prithipaul said Friday’s appointments are quite strong, but admits there is still a lack of diversity on the bench when it comes to legal background, specifically pointing to the lack of defence counsel represented.
“The federal government has said that is one of their priorities, and it may be that they have another bunch of appointments that they’re thinking about and that they’re just waiting a little bit. But the only defence counsel that I saw was appointed was in Ontario.”
The judicial appointments are effective immediately. For a list of the judges, visit the Government of Canada’s website.
With files from Vinesh Pratap, Global News.