Alberta Crown prosecutors reach agreement with government

After five months of negotiations, Alberta’s Crown prosecutors have finally ratified an agreement with the Alberta government.

The new agreement was ratified last Friday and was made between the Alberta Crown Attorneys’ Association and the justice and finance ministries.

According to a Thursday morning release, it includes:

• Allowing for market adjustments to ensure association members’ pay is competitive with other provinces and the federal prosecutor service
• Commits to a one-year counselling pilot project that would provide Crown prosecutors access to one-on-one counselling sessions with a registered psychiatrist or psychologist
• Defining the relationship between Crown prosecutors and the government

“This agreement is an important step forward for the stability of Alberta’s justice system,” justice minister Tyler Shandro said in a statement.

“It will act as a solid basis for the strong and enduring relationship between Alberta’s government and the Alberta Crown Attorneys’ Association.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It will act as a solid basis for the strong and enduring relationship between Alberta's government and the Alberta Crown Attorneys' Association."

2:02 Alberta’s Crown prosecutors considering job action

This came when the government of Alberta committed to negotiations in May after Crown prosecutors threatened to walk off the job a month prior.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

The Alberta Crown Attorneys’ Association has raised alarms about a crisis in the province’s justice system for years. More than 1,000 court cases involving serious crimes were at risk of falling through the cracks last year because there were simply not enough Crown prosecutors.

Crown prosecutors were also overworked. The association told Global News in April that it isn’t uncommon for crown prosecutors to juggle 30 to 40 trials a week and be working 70 or 80 hours a week.

“I think we’re relieved and we’re feeling optimistic that it’s the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship between prosecutors and the government,” association president Dallas Sopko told 770 CHQR.

“We’re feeling that our relationship should improve and the quality of prosecutions should be something that the public can rely on for the next 18 months as a result of the agreement.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We're feeling that our relationship should improve and the quality of prosecutions should be something that the public can rely on for the next 18 months as a result of the agreement."

The agreement, however, did not outline commitments from the province to hire more Crown prosecutors. Instead, Sopko said the agreement guarantees a certain amount of preparation time for each case.

“What that will mean is that there will have to be an adequate number of Crown prosecutors in the province so that they can have that guaranteed preparation time as well,” Sopko said.

“The agreement addresses a number of concerns of our membership, including mental health supports and overwhelming file loads…We expect that the prosecution service will be able to keep the senior and skilled prosecutors it has, and in addition, be able to attract more prosecutors to come to our service.”

The new agreement is in force until March 31, 2024.

770 CHQR reached out to the Ministry of Justice with requests for additional comment.