Alberta prosecutor says court delays force Crown to toss criminal cases ‘on the trash heap’

An Alberta prosecutor says the Crown is being forced to toss criminal cases “on the trash heap” because of a backlog and lack of resources in the courts that appears to have no end in sight.

Senior Calgary prosecutor Jonathan Hak made the comment during a Jordan application hearing this week into whether a woman found guilty in the death of her son from a strep infection should have her conviction overturned due to unreasonable delay.

Hak says the court system is overloaded with criminal cases and the Crown is taking cases that are perfectly prosecutable and tossing them because they aren’t important enough.

Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley says the prosecutors have been urged to focus on cases that involve serious or violent crimes and to try and find early resolutions for less urgent cases.

She understands the frustration of court officials and says things aren’t going to improve until the federal government appoints new justices to Alberta courts.

Ganley says there are 14 vacancies in the province including 10 new justices that were approved by the Trudeau government.