Manitoba’s Attorney General and three chief justices penned a letter calling on the federal government to overhaul preliminary requirements in the province.
The letter was sent to Canada’s Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould in late 2016 as a judicial and ministerial collaboration between Attorney General Heather Stefanson, Chief Justice of Manitoba Richard Chartier, Chief Justice of Court of Queen’s Bench Glenn Joyal, and Chief Judge of Provincial Court Margaret Wiebe.
The letter asked for an amendment to the Criminal Code, allowing for a four-year pilot project where preliminary inquiries would be replaced with an out-of-court discovery in Manitoba.
The goal of the project would be to address the “unacceptable and unreasonable delays that currently exist in our criminal justice system”.
In July 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled provincial court matters should not exceed 18 months from when charges are laid to the conclusion of a trial, and 30 months in superior court cases.
According to the letter, that ruling also encouraged “provincial legislatures and Parliament, [to take] a fresh look at rules, procedures and other areas of the criminal law to ensure that they are conductive to timely justice.”
However, not all lawyers are convinced getting rid of preliminary inquiries would speed up the court process.
Criminal Defense Lawyers Association Spokesperson Scott Newman said the organization is opposed to the request. He said the move was done without consultation from defense lawyers, it may not solve court backlog issues and instead, make them worse. He also said it could increase the risk of wrongful convictions.
Wilson-Raybould issued a statement to CTV News. It said she is aware of the proposal and is willing to work with provinces to reduce delays, which may include reforms to preliminary inquiries.
She is also aware this is a divisive issue.
“This government is committed to an evidence-based approach to ensuring a just and efficient criminal justice system,” the statement read.
“Currently, a committee made up of members of the judiciary, senior federal and provincial justice officials, as well as members of the private bar, is studying the prevalence of use of preliminary inquiries in Canada and their actual impact on the trial system. The Senate Committee on delays is expected to release its Final Report in March 2017 and may also comment on the issue.”
Numbers from Statistics Canada covering 2014-2015 show approximately 328,000 criminal court cases in Canada each year; 9,179 have a preliminary inquiry scheduled.
