The labor shortage is hitting the justice system hard, to the point of raising fears of stoppages in the judicial process. Five rooms of the Montreal courthouse remained closed Tuesday morning for lack of clerks, which had the effect of delaying cases of sexual assault and murder. A recurring problem that worries both judges and the prosecution.
“The delay [prévu par l’arrêt] Jordan is a risk. We would not want to end up with files with vulnerable victims who were not dealt with within the required timeframe because of a situation of staff shortages. […] We play a bit with fire, ”worries M in an interview.e Martin Chalifour, chief prosecutor for the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) in the Montreal office.
Despite their crucial role, court clerks barely earn $ 35,000 to $ 45,000, according to the salary scale of the Ministère de la Justice in 2019. According to the Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Quebec, Jacques Fournier, the salaries of judicial staff “are not competitive” having regard to the responsibilities of these employees. A mistake by a criminal clerk can become grounds for appeal, he illustrated, in an interview with Press last month.
“The difficulties in recruiting and retaining this staff are recurrent and have existed for many years and are tending to worsen. Moreover, the ministerial authorities are well informed of this situation ”, declared by email Scott Hughes, Associate Chief Justice of the Court of Quebec.
In recent months, it occasionally happened that a courtroom opened late due to the absence of a court clerk. However, Tuesday, out of twenty rooms in criminal matters, five remained closed at 9:30 am These could not open until late morning, or even in the afternoon, which delayed many cases. involving witnesses and defendants.
“It’s an exceptional situation. I’ve never seen that, five theaters closed the same day. This is something out of the ordinary, ”observes M.e Chalifour.
The closures of rooms put the patience of magistrates to the test on Tuesday. Judge Christian M. Tremblay was fuming in the afternoon addressing the many lawyers gathered in the courtroom. “I start my role at 2:00 pm today! We did not have a clerk to open this room this morning. Several other rooms of the palace too, ”said the judge of the Court of Quebec.
In the morning, a complainant was scheduled to testify in a two-day sexual assault trial. This woman had come from Toronto to testify against her alleged attacker. However, she had to wait long hours before starting her painful story around 3 p.m., to the chagrin of Judge Tremblay.
Exasperated, Justice Tremblay warned other defendants, whose cases were postponed in February, to be ready for any eventuality. “It is understaffed. If you have a bad day and there is a lack of personnel… We are going through periods of uncertainty right now, ”he said.
A man ready to plead guilty to serious charges also had to wait until Friday because of the overcrowding of the role, despite Judge Tremblay’s efforts to find a colleague available for half an hour. “There are not enough clerks,” concluded the judge.
On that day, the preliminary investigation of a man accused of murder began only in the afternoon in the absence of a clerk. A situation strongly denounced by Judge Érick Vanchestein who apologized on behalf of the legal system to the members of the victim’s family. The judge also said the Justice Department must now act.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department said by email that no trial had been “postponed due to understaffing.” “Some rooms had to open later, but a reorganization made it possible to avoid postponing the trial,” she said.
But on the ground, the situation is critical, insists a source of the judicial system who must remain anonymous because of his job. “The courthouses are being emptied of staff right now, and it’s in all the courthouses. Even in the registry offices, there are so many more people that the files are lost, ”deplores this source.
Protect the victims
The chief prosecutor of the DPCP of Montreal has asked his prosecutors to be “extremely vigilant” so that the delays caused by the lack of judicial personnel have the least possible impact on vulnerable victims.
In these cases, witnesses travel, victims travel, they’ve been waiting for months. We don’t want to lose them.
Me Martin Chalifour, Chief Prosecutor of the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions
The prosecutor also welcomes the work of the Court of Quebec to ensure that these cases are treated “as quickly as possible”.
The shortage of judicial personnel is also of concern to the Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Quebec. “It’s a problem that hits the whole of society. I find it ironic that we are talking about the problems of restaurateurs in finding staff, but we are not talking about the problems of the three cornerstones of democracy in recruiting staff, ”said Jacques Fournier.
With the collaboration of Tristan Péloquin and Daniel Renaud, Press