Schedule of judges of the Court of Québec | Jolin-Barrette and the Chief Justice begin discussions

The Legault government and the Court of Quebec are starting talks in the hope of settling their dispute over the controversial reform of judges’ work schedules. Discussions have already begun under the leadership of a former judge and former deputy minister, appointed as facilitator.

The Minister of Justice Simon Jolin-Barrette and the Chief Justice of the Court of Quebec Lucie Rondeau “have jointly mandated Mr. Jacques Chamberland as a facilitator in order to accompany them in the search for common solutions following the reorganization of the work of judges. sitting in criminal and penal matters,” the minister and the Court of Quebec announced on Friday.

The brief statement states that “discussions began in January 2023”. The talks will remain confidential, it is added.

Former judge Jacques Chamberland is known to the public for having chaired in 2017 the Commission of Inquiry on the protection of the confidentiality of journalistic sources, launched in the wake of the “Lagacé affair”.

In addition to having worked for 28 years on the bench, Jacques Chamberland was Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General of Quebec between 1988 and 1993. A unique experience that should allow him to fully understand the grievances of both camps.

This is an important step forward in this conflict, as the rag has been burning for months between Quebec and Chief Justice Rondeau. The Press published last fall the many letters exchanged between Minister Jolin-Barrette and Chief Justice Rondeau since the announcement of the reorganization project in December 2021.

Minister Jolin-Barrette even turned to the Quebec Court of Appeal last summer to have the Chief Justice’s “unilateral” reform annulled. Quebec fears that this decision will lead to an “avalanche” of halting the judicial process due to unreasonable delays.

Essentially, this reorganization allows the judges of the Court of Québec of the Criminal and Penal Division to sit less often in the courtroom to give them more time for deliberation. The Chief Justice justifies this need because of the complexity of the law and the many written decisions to be rendered.

Since September 2022, the judges thus sit according to a 1/1 ratio of one day on the bench for one day of deliberations, whereas they sat two days for one day of deliberations. In practice, this change results in the loss of more than 4,500 hearing days. Chief Judge Rondeau is calling for 41 new judges to compensate, but Quebec refuses.

Meanwhile, delays continue to lengthen in courthouses, partly due to the Rondeau reform, but also due to the severe shortage of court personnel. According to Justice Department projections, about 50,000 criminal cases will exceed the Jordan 18-month cap next August. Of the number, about 9,000 cases will be at risk precisely because of the change in the judges’ schedule, the ministry estimates.

Note that Lucie Rondeau was appointed Chief Justice in October 2016 for a non-renewable term of seven years.