The Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, has appointed 15 new judges to hear criminal cases at the Court of Quebec. He maintains that these appointments will reduce judicial delays and that the wait for a trial date will be reduced accordingly.
This number of appointments results in particular from the agreement between the former chief judge of the Court of Quebec, Lucie Rondeau, and the Minister of Justice, concluded in April 2023.
Let us recall that at the origin of this conflict — which was even brought to justice — the chief judge had reduced the number of days on which judges sat to hear cases, in order to free up time for them to write their judgments. This was obviously going to have an impact on legal delays, and she had attracted the ire of Minister Jolin-Barrette. Mme Rondeau replied that he only had to appoint 41 more judges in order to alleviate the legal delay that this reduction in hours on the bench could cause.
The agreement they reached provided for the creation of 14 new judge positions, as well as the appointment of jurists to fill these positions.
For its part, the judiciary agreed to increase its annual workload, by adding 17 sitting days for the judicial years from 2023 to 2025, and 6 days between 1er September and December 31, 2025.
The minister indicates that since 2013, the number of judges at the Court of Quebec has increased from 290 to 333.
It is the judges of the Court of Quebec who hear the majority of criminal proceedings brought against citizens, although certain crimes, such as murders, are heard only by judges of the Superior Court, appointed by Ottawa.
“The appointment of these 15 new judges represents a first step in rectifying the situation of judicial delays in criminal matters. We reiterate, for us, it is essential that victims can count on a justice system that allows them to quickly turn the page in order to get back on track with their lives,” Minister Jolin-Barrette declared in a press release on Wednesday.