There were 357 abandonments of criminal proceedings last year, but everything will get better, promised the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, announcing a series of measures aimed at reducing legal delays.
• Read also: “We’re stretching the sauce a little”: judges targeted by investigations that last for years
• Read also: Reduction of judicial delays: Quebec appoints a historic number of judges
• Read also: Stay of proceedings in the second trial of Samuel Ducharme
“It is essential that at the end of the day, our justice system allows victims to obtain a judgment and thus turn the page and resume the normal course of their lives,” declared the provincial minister during a conference. press release this Monday, at the Montreal courthouse.
Just after, Mr. Jolin-Barrette announced 12 actions aimed at reducing delays in criminal and penal matters, with the aim of reducing the delays which plague the system and which allow accused persons to get away without consequences, due to lack of be judged within the time limits imposed by the Supreme Court of Canada.
In Quebec, just in 2023, there were 83 abrupt stays of cases ordered by judges, while the Crown filed 274 notices of stay of proceedings, mainly because it was unable to set trial dates in time.
The Far North was the most affected by this measure, with 171 stops, compared to 10 in Montreal. The Ministry of Justice, however, tempers this by stating that for a single cause, there can be several stays of proceedings.
12 measures
Faced with this situation, Minister Jolin-Barrette assures that the government is continuing its efforts “to make the justice system more accessible, more efficient, but above all more humane”.
Thus, in addition to the recent appointment of 14 judges in the criminal and penal chamber, the minister will work on a bill to better “optimize” the available resources.
Thus, presiding justices of the peace, who handle, among other things, traffic ticket cases, will now be able to sit for criminal appearances. They will also be able to decide on the release of an accused pending trial, in order to allow other judges to concentrate on complex requests or holding trials on time.
As for the lack of clerks, the minister announced that they will now be trained for a shorter period of time, so that they can be in office more quickly.
“Attraction and retention bonuses” are also planned, as are measures to make room for new technologies in order to save time.
Plan praised
“We have undertaken a real change of culture in our justice system so that victims feel supported, listened to, and above all safe throughout the legal process,” assured the minister, thanking all the partners of the Table Justice -Quebec who helped establish the minister’s game plan.
This Monday’s announcement also seems to be received positively by those involved in the justice system.
“The development of this action plan illustrates the consultation and will of all partners in the pursuit of this common objective [de réduire les délais] », said in a press release Me Patrick Michel, director of criminal and penal prosecutions.
The President of Quebec, Me Catherine Claveau, for her part, “welcomed” the submission of the action plan while ensuring her “full and complete collaboration”. Me Élizabeth Ménard, president of the Association of Defense Lawyers of Montreal, Laval and Longueuil, for her part recalled that “everyone benefits from legal proceedings taking place expeditiously.”