The resignation of 100 clerks in three years at the Montreal courthouse has very real effects on the population. A woman who was allegedly beaten and strangled by her husband had to wait a whole day to have her cross-examination then postponed. An “unacceptable and deplorable” situation, railed Judge Robert Marchi.
Posted at 6:18 p.m.
The consequences of the exodus of court personnel are observed daily at the Montreal courthouse. Lawyers, defendants, victims and witnesses regularly come up against closed courtrooms, for lack of court clerks or special constables. This has the effect of bogging down the few open rooms and multiplying the postponements, at the risk of causing Jordan-type stops.
With the departure of 44 clerks in the last year in Montreal, the situation continues to worsen, observed The Press in the last few weeks. By mid-June, at least three courtrooms were closed daily in the morning, when everyone was ready to proceed. Mines are often low in the halls of the courthouse.
On June 17, Judge Marchi could not take the bench until 3 p.m. when a clerk finally freed herself. However, the magistrate was to hear at 9:30 a.m. the continuation of the complainant’s cross-examination at the trial of a 31-year-old Montrealer. The latter faces five counts of having strangled his wife and threatened her with death in 2019.
Since it was impossible to complete the complainant’s testimony, the judge was forced to postpone it until next August. Among other things, he was also to render a sentence in a case of fraud at the end of the afternoon.
This is unacceptable ! Three clerks are missing. [Pour] access to justice, the boots will have to follow the chops! My duty of reserve forbids me to go further. But I just want to explain [la situation] to the people who have been here since 9:30 this [vendredi] morning. It is deplorable. I deeply regret it.
Judge Robert Marchi
“I regret not having been able to work this morning. And that in particular, the plaintiff was forced to stay at the courthouse since 9:30 a.m. without knowing what was going to happen. Not to mention the interpreter too. Nothing happened ! I tell you, the criminal chamber does not need additional pressure…”, continued the magistrate, without concluding his thought.
“Once again, this is an unacceptable, deplorable situation. It can’t go on like this for long… ”, grumbled the judge.
Low salaries
Despite their crucial role in the judicial system, court clerks barely earn $35,000 to $45,000 a year, while their municipal court colleagues earn $20,000 more. Salaries are so uncompetitive, given the responsibilities, that recruits leave their posts quickly. Their collective agreement has expired, and the negotiations are stalling.
According to data obtained under the Access to Documents Act, 42 Montreal courthouse clerks resigned in 2021-2022, in addition to 2 retirements.
In the past three years, no less than 100 clerks have walked out in Montreal. In comparison, only nine clerks had resigned in 2016-2017.
In his annual address, Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner recently called the underfunding of the courts “unacceptable,” according to The Canadian Press. In particular, he mentioned the salaries of $30,000 or $35,000 allocated to legal assistants.
The Press also revealed, last spring, that the chief justices of the Court of Quebec, the Superior Court and the Court of Appeal had united to challenge Quebec last year in order to demand better salaries for the assistants to the judiciary. They earn less than $50,000 and many turn to the private sector, to the chagrin of the judges.
With William Leclerc, The Press