Wishing to reduce waiting times in the justice system and thus avoid halts in proceedings, Quebec will grant magistrate justices of the peace increased powers so as to free up between 15 and 20 judges of the Court of Quebec. They will then be able to devote themselves to criminal trials.
While in Montreal on Monday, the Quebec Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, unveiled the plan developed in collaboration with the Table Justice-Québec, a think tank set up to find solutions to the long wait in matters crimes that undermine the justice system.
With this plan, Quebec aims to reduce the time required to close a case. In 2023, 83 criminal cases were the subject of a stay of proceedings, recalled Minister Jolin-Barrette. “What I want is for there to be no further stays of proceedings or other nolle prosequi “, he said.
“But I’ll be honest with you: it might happen, but at least we’re in the right direction. We have a game plan that is common with all partners and we will all work in the same direction. »
Quebec had already announced its intention to appoint 14 additional judges in the Criminal and Penal Chamber, including eight in Montreal, and the hires were made in January.
Certain cases will be entrusted to presiding justices of the peace in order to free up judges of the Court of Quebec, who will be able to devote themselves to other cases. “Each year, the time devoted by the judges of the Court of Quebec to presiding over appearances and hearings on release represents full-time work for 15 to 20 judges of the Court of Quebec. Thus, the proposed measure will free up the equivalent of 15 to 20 judges in the Criminal and Penal Chamber so that they can devote more of their time to hearing complex trials and requests,” explained the minister.
Staff shortage
In addition, the system of proof of default files before justices of the peace will be simplified, and certain files which were the responsibility of presiding justices of the peace will be entrusted to civil servant judges, including, among others, reports of offenses related to photo radar . Finally, appearances and release hearings presided over by justices of the peace can be held remotely seven days a week.
The minister says he is aware of the shortage of staff in courthouses. The lack of personnel, in particular special constables and court clerks, disrupts the holding of certain hearings. In this regard, the minister highlighted that a thousand people had been hired by the Ministry of Justice over the past year. “We have challenges in terms of retention, that’s why we are in the reclassification process. And the negotiation of collective agreements is not over. »
In the case of clerks, reinforcements could be obtained virtually, he noted.
The changes proposed in the plan will be the subject of a bill which will be tabled shortly, the minister indicated.