The Quebec judicial system is on the edge of the precipice, reiterates the President of Quebec, Ms.e Catherine Claveau, who asks the parties in the electoral campaign to double the budget allocated to justice.
This should therefore drop from 1.1% of Quebec’s total budget to 2.2%, claims the Barreau du Québec, stressing that justice has suffered, and is still suffering, because of its chronic underfunding.
“The citizens of Quebec all deserve, without exception, to have access to justice when they need it,” said Ms.e Claveau in a press release.
The effects of the lack of money are being felt in Quebec’s courthouses: cases are postponed due to the lack of staff to operate courtrooms and delays are getting longer to get a trial date.
The Barreau gives these two examples of service failures to illustrate its remarks: last May, a judge was forced to apologize to an 87-year-old senior victim of a violent robbery, after being forced to postpone the trial of the accused due to the lack of court clerks. And this case: a citizen waited more than three years before being able to present himself to small claims for a history of an unpaid invoice.
“Our justice system has reached its limits and presents alarming risks of slippage or disruption of services,” insists the president.
In addition to the budget, the Bar is calling for certain actions that should be implemented as a priority.
First, he asks the future government to allow litigants to deduct their lawyers’ bills from their taxes.
He also wants resources to be allocated urgently for justice rendered in Nord-du-Québec, a region where litigants are seriously disadvantaged.
The Bar, which is the professional order overseeing the practice of more than 29,000 lawyers in Quebec, also wants to quickly see the reform of legal aid, particularly with regard to the remuneration grid for lawyers who accept such mandates.
Justice should be a real societal priority, in the same way as health and education, insists the Bar.