Crown prosecutors represent victims of crime. They work for the community at large and are an integral part of the justice system. “Our members are utterly disappointed with the government,” said President Dallas Sopko. “We are trying to listen to our government to address the current crisis in the judiciary for years.” In the last provincial election, the UCP promised to hire 50 new Crown prosecutors.
Read more: “It is a crisis”: The lack of prosecutors in the Alberta crown means that 1,200 serious files are in danger of remaining
The story goes on under the ad In October 2019, then-Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer spoke out against the fight against rural crime when he said “from hiring more prosecutors to providing more funding for the Alberta Rural Response Team, these are campaign commitments we made and my direction by the Prime Minister is over. “ But things have not improved, Sopko said, pointing to St. Paul where he said crime is high and the Crowns are in short supply. He said a prosecutor could trick 30-40 trials a week when a viable amount in other provinces is a quarter of that. “Especially when we work on big cases, it is not uncommon to work 70 or 80 hours a week. “We enjoy the work that prosecutors do, but we are asked to do a lot and take on a lot, very soon.” 1:51 A lack of prosecutors in the Alberta Crown means that 1,200 serious cases are in danger of remaining. Lack of prosecutors in the Crown of Alberta means that 1,200 serious files are in danger of remaining – November 24, 2021 The union recently wrote a letter to Prime Minister Jason Kenney in a last-ditch effort to allow the Crowns to start their own union. It explicitly states: “The negligence of your government has forced us to consider action for work.” Trending Stories
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The story goes on under the ad He describes “overwhelming file loads, insufficient mental health support and uncompetitive compensation” as reasons why Alberta currently has 37 vacancies – a dozen of them in Edmonton alone. This task accumulates in others as senior prosecutors leave for other jurisdictions. “The danger is always to come to court unprepared because we do not have the time or experience to do what needs to be done,” Sopko said. “What can happen in these cases is an unfair result.” He said 3,000 cases had already been delayed so much that the defendants could proceed due to Jordan’s ruling by the Supreme Court. The decision requires justice within a reasonable time.
Read more: Alberta Justice Minister addresses memorandum, defends new screening protocol for prosecutors
Another subject; The crowns in Alberta have been testing cases for five years – throwing viable cases right away from the hop and passing this news on to the victims. It started under the NDP acknowledging that there were not enough resources to handle all the cases. “We have to go to them and say, ‘It looks like a crime was committed against you, but we do not have the resources, the government has not given us the money to deal with it. Well, sorry, you are not going to take your day to court’ “This is a really overwhelming thing to do.” The story goes on under the ad The UCP promised to abolish the screening protocol years ago. “The idea that criminals are leaving Scotland simply because we have an insufficient number of prosecutors is, to me, completely unacceptable,” Kenney said in 2019. 1:49 Alberta doubles Crown Articling students Alberta doubles Crown Articling students – November 25, 2019 In response to a recent letter, Justice Secretary Tyler Sandro declined to be interviewed, but provided a written statement. “I have instructed the Department of Justice to invite the Alberta Crown Bar Association to an enhanced consultation early next week to look for ways to jointly address the concerns raised in their correspondence,” he said. Sopko said this has already been done without success in the past. “It seems that at this point it is nothing more than a stagnation tactic.” The story goes on under the ad He adds that the only provinces where the crowns are not allowed to unionize independently are Alberta, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island. “Not all money is for prosecutors here, but at some point it is impossible to stay when there is an offer to do the exact same job elsewhere for up to 40 percent more with less workload and more support.” There are approximately 380 Crown Prosecutors in Alberta. Sopko said most of them could step down within a month, crippling the judiciary. © 2022 Global News, part of Corus Entertainment Inc.
