ATHABASCA - The COVID-19 pandemic has put a hold on a lot of things this year — socializing, travelling, working and even judicial proceedings — but it did not put a hold on the crime residents throughout the greater region are experiencing, or the backlog of those who were caught and are currently awaiting court dates.
The subject came up at Athabasca County council’s June 9 meeting as Athabasca RCMP Staff Sgt. Paul Gilligan and Boyle RCMP Corp. Colin Folk presented council with stats comparing 2018-19 and 2019-20, which actually showed the number of crimes to be declining slightly over the previous year.
Rural crime and what different levels of government are doing about it is a hot topic of conversation in the region and is top of mind for many residents who live more than a few kilometres out of town.
Following their presentation, Coun. Christi Bilsky asked for some clarification on just how the pandemic has affected the justice system, particularly court proceedings.
“At this point, they have no idea when the courthouse will open and how they’re going to do it, and if they even continue to have court in Athabasca is all up in the air,” Staff Sgt. Gilligan said.
Prosecutors are currently going through backlogged case files “and will probably withdraw and stay as many as they possibly can based on case law under Jordan that says if they can’t bring a matter to trial within a certain expectation of time, the case will be thrown out on a Charter challenge,” he said.
“It is disheartening.”
R v. Jordan is a 2016 Supreme Court of Canada decision which rejected the framework used to determine whether an accused was tried within a reasonable time under Section 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and replaced it with a presumptive ceiling of 18 months between the charges and the trial in a provincial court without preliminary inquiry, or 30 months in other cases.
“That concerns me,” said Coun. Travais Johnson. “I worry about the public’s reaction because there are still individuals who are going through the court system that haven’t learned and they’re still going out to commit crimes.”
He tip-toed around the potential of a resident getting fed up and taking the situation into their own hands, though he did not say as much.
Further discussion later in the meeting had councillors asking what they could do as a council to lobby the government to do more.
“I can’t believe they are staying, or throwing out all of these cases. It just blows my mind … I think we need to complain to somebody,” Coun. Bilsky said. “That’s ridiculous, I just can’t believe it.”
Coun. Dwayne Rawson, himself a retired RCMP member, suggested a letter be written to Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer to express council’s concerns.
“We have a number of people in our county who have some pretty serious charges on them and if they walk free of these charges, there’s going to be a huge public uproar,” he said.
Council was about to pass a motion to have administration send a letter to the justice minister before county manager Ryan Maier interjected, saying the county had sent two very similar letters to the minister in the last year, the last being in December, and received no response to either.
“I don’t know if they know how bad it is,” said Bilsky.
“We need to do more, it scares me,” said Johnson. “I think we have to make a statement showing our disgust for what’s happening and urging calmness and vigilance.”
Coun. Dennis Willcott mentioned sending a letter directly to Premier Jason Kenney.
“This is crazy, I agree with Travais, if someone comes into my yard, he’s not leaving with nothing if I can help it. I’ll say it,” said Willcott. “If the law doesn’t take care of them, I’ll have to take care of them and that’s a bad statement to put out there, but that’s what is going to happen.”
Eventually council did pass a motion to send a letter to Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken, the justice minister and the premier, indicating they would like a response to their correspondence.
New legislation
The Alberta government has introduced a series of new measures in the last year to help offset the amount of crime in the province, particularly in rural areas, says Dan Laville, director of communications and public engagement with Alberta Justice and Solicitor General.
In an email, he mentioned the new police funding agreement with municipalities and the federal government that is meant to increase the number of officers on the ground by 25 per cent. The provincial government has also enhanced the powers of sheriffs, community peace officers and fish and wildlife officers to help reduce response times, he said.
“The government is also taking measures to address the backlog in our court system through a fairer, faster, and more responsive justice system. This includes hiring additional Crown prosecutors and articling students to ensure cases aren’t dropped and end what some call the “catch-and-release” or “revolving-door” justice system,” wrote Laville, adding the creation of an Alberta Parole Board will also change how decisions on the release of individuals into the community are made.
New legislation regarding first-time impaired drivers will also “save thousands of hours of court time to ensure serious, violent crimes are prosecuted and police officers are on the streets protecting Albertans instead of spending thousands of hours doing administrative paperwork or waiting in courtrooms.”
Laville went on to write that serious matters will be heard and courts have already adjusted operations, using technology, allowing for some matters to be heard, adding the Jordan decision does allow for “exceptional circumstances.”
“Whether or not a pandemic-related delay constitutes an “exceptional circumstance,” will be for an independent court to decide,” he said.
Chris Zwick,TownandCountryToday.com
