Explain Court System Backlog - Question Period

CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Justice. The Supreme Court of Canada Jordan decision sets clear thresholds for legal cases to be heard in a reasonable period of time. Depending on the case, the thresholds vary from 18 to 30 months from the date of the charge.

If the case exceeds these thresholds it may be thrown out because of undue delay. An FOI request filed by our caucus shows that in September 2019 there were 415 cases that were over these thresholds, a more than 15 per cent increase over the 356 cases in September of the previous year.

Mr. Speaker, why, after six years in government, is this serious backlog in our court system continuing to grow?

HON. MARK FUREY « » : I thank my colleague for the question. The numbers she has referred to are misleading in that she refers to a specific number. There are contributing factors as to why those numbers are there. In many cases those are waivers by defence that are outside of the expectations within the process. There are cases where warrants are issued. There are cases that go to restorative justice. There are a number of reasons that that number is where it is.

What is unique in Nova Scotia, Mr. Speaker, is that within the criminal justice transformation group they've created a ticker - I'm looking for the word. They create a ticker within the electronic system of the court monitoring process that identifies priority cases. They are elevated. The judiciary is part of this process, along with Crown prosecutors, police and other representatives in the criminal justice system, to ensure that we are meeting the threshold and that we are mitigating all risks associated to these files.

CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Mr. Speaker at least one thing that that number represents is a backlog in the court system, in addition to some of the other things that the minister mentioned.

Mr. Speaker, the 80 Crown attorneys across the province handle about 40,000 cases each year in Nova Scotia. Their job is to perform duties relating to the administration of criminal justice throughout the province and to represent the interests of the general public when cases go to trial. Each Crown attorney carries over 400 cases. Any delay could lead to dismissal of serious charges, including human trafficking and even murder.

Mr. Speaker, does the minister think the provincial justice system could continue to function for a single day without all of its Crown prosecutors on the job?

THE SPEAKER « » : Order, please. I'm going to rule that question out of order. That question anticipates a discussion on the bill which is on the order paper.

CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : I didn't know that.