Reform of Justice Rondeau | 9,000 criminal cases at risk, according to Quebec

The justice system risks reaching an unprecedented “level of criticality” by the end of the summer due to the controversial reform of the work schedule of judges of the Court of Quebec. As many as 9,000 criminal cases are in jeopardy precisely because of the Chief Justice’s decision, according to the Department of Justice.

At the same time, a new expert report produced for Quebec slams the “master document” justifying the Rondeau reform and qualifies it as “administrative measures as radical and unilateral […] designed[s] specifically to hold the government hostage.”

This litigation, both judicial and political, concerns the decision of the Chief Justice of the Court of Québec, Lucie Rondeau, to extend the deliberation time of judges in criminal and penal matters to the detriment of their time spent in the courtroom. For months, the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, has been trying to have this “unilateral” decision overturned by the higher courts.

Since September 2022, the judges enjoy one day of deliberations for each day on the bench (ratio 1:1), whereas they previously sat for two days and deliberated on the third day (ratio 2:1). A net loss of 4617 hearing days.

To compensate, the chief judge calls for 41 new judges, but Quebec refuses.

New projections from the Department of Justice estimate that in August 2023, 48,000 to 55,000 cases will exceed the Jordan ruling’s 18-month cap in the event of a rearrangement of judges’ schedules. These cases therefore risk being the subject of motions to halt the judicial process for unreasonable delays.

These projections are similar to those put into evidence last summer by the Department of Justice – and described as “incongruous” and “irrational” scenarios by the Court of Quebec.

In a new report filed as evidence before the Court of Appeal, the author concludes “more precisely” that nearly 20% of these cases, or approximately 9,000, would be “directly attributable to the change in the ratio at the Court of Quebec”. The other causes would be the result of “past trends”. We can think, for example, of the serious shortage of personnel which plagues the judicial system.

Moreover, the current situation could prove to be “even more problematic” when all the judicial districts fully apply this new ratio, underlines the report of last December 22.

An 8% drop in the number of sessions was observed in Quebec last September. However, there are significant variations between the districts: a notable decrease of 17 to 22% in Quebec City, Gatineau and Joliette, a slight decrease of 4% in Montreal and even a slight increase in Longueuil and Laval.

In Montreal, delays in setting a two-day trial date for an accused at large have gone from 10 to 13 months in just one year, shows a table from the Court of Quebec filed as evidence in a Jordan motion. . In December 2019, it was possible to set a trial just five months later.

Workload assessment

The Chief Justice justifies her reform by the increasing complexity of the law since the advent of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 and by the heavy workload resulting from the numerous written motions and decisions to be rendered. The old schedule “compromised quality justice” in his eyes.

The cornerstone of the Rondeau reform is the report entitled The evolution of the function of judge written last year by retired judge Maurice Galarneau. In a sworn statement, the Chief Justice affirmed last November that the conclusions of the “Galarneau report” had never been called into question.

However, a 60-page expert report filed by Quebec demolishes the conclusions of the “Galarneau report”.

“It is impossible to see, in the words of the Honorable Justice Galarneau, the emergency situation that could justify the recommended measure. […] What is sought is additional intellectual comfort in the exercise of these functions”, concludes the author M^e Pierre Lapointe, who was for a long time Chief Deputy Attorney General.

The “Galarneau report” does not contain any “objective data” to assess the extent of the judges’ task, argues Ms.^e The point.

In fact, for 25 years, there has been no “significant” increase in the factors raised by Justice Galarneau, reveals a statistical analysis by the Department of Justice. The number of open criminal cases has even been decreasing since 2012, adds the author.

One of the main justifications for the Rondeau reform relates to the increase in requests over the past 40 years. However, the analysis of 8000 court files shows that the requests are in constant decline, concludes M^e The point. In 2021, 4.8% of cases were the subject of a motion, compared to 6% in 2013-2014.

“These data are not significant enough to justify a uniform and generalized imposition of a new ratio for all business in Quebec,” says Ms.^e Lapointe, indicating that 92% of criminal cases are settled before trial or on the first day of hearing and are not likely to be the subject of motions.

The report commissioned by Quebec concludes that the “Galarneau report” should also have considered the “perverse effect” of its recommendations. “It is to be feared, because of this measure, that the judicial system will have to deal with a very large number of requests for unreasonable delays in the short term”, concludes the author.

The Court of Appeal is expected to hear the parties in 2023.