WESTLOCK - After rural communities signalled to the provincial government the need to improve the court system, justice minister Doug Schweitzer announced last week the immediate doubling of the Crown articling student class.
In a Nov. 25 press conference Schweitzer acknowledged that prosecutors’ case loads are too high and said that bringing the class up to 16 students, and then 20 by 2021, is one way to ensure the “pipeline of lawyers” in the province ends up in Crown offices.
“We welcome the expansion of our articling program and we are confident we will receive a good response to our upcoming competition for additional articling students for 2020. I’m especially pleased that as part of this expansion we will be able to offer rotations to students outside of Edmonton and Calgary,” said Eric Tolppanen, assistant deputy minister of the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service in a statement provided to the Westlock News.
According to Schweitzer, the additional students will also allow prosecutors to focus on higher-priority duties, and that this is another step the government is taking to strengthen the justice system.
Priority will be given to rural offices and smaller judicial districts. Incentives for students who wish to remain in rural Crown offices include a commitment to those who complete their articles that they can remain as Crown prosecutors where they articled. Relocation expenses and other financial incentives under the government’s Premium Pay Directive will also be available.
Tolppanen added that no decisions have been made about the placement of the additional students, but the ability of an office to accommodate them and provide a well-rounded articling experience will be taken into account.
Carla Jones, communications advisor with Alberta Justice and Solicitor General, clarified that in recent years, there have been no articling students in the Fort Saskatchewan Crown office, which prosecutes in Westlock Provincial Court.
The office is currently staffed with six prosecutors and covers provincial courts in Athabasca, Barrhead, Boyle, Fort Saskatchewan, Swan Hills, Vegreville and Westlock.
Schweitzer announced too that the Crown has 25 unfilled prosecutor positions across the province, which it aims to fill partly with articling students. No job postings are open in Fort Saskatchewan, however.
He added that the government intends to keep its campaign commitment of hiring an additional 50 prosecutors. Jones clarified that the first 20 will be hired after April 1, 2020.
Decisions have not yet been made on the allocation of articling students or the 50 new prosecutors.
Westlock RCMP detachment Staff Sgt. Al Baird has signaled on numerous occasions, most publicly at the crime town hall he organized Nov. 8, that the catch-and-release effect produced by backlogged court rooms contributes to the rise in crime statistics.
See also: New measures to combat rural crime unveiled
“That’s another thing we’re finding: we have a docket day and a trial day the same day, and that’s for everything from traffic tickets to criminal matters,” said Baird in a Town of Westlock council meeting Nov. 25.
Prior to his town council delegation, Baird met with Scott Niblock, acting chief Crown prosecutor in Fort Saskatchewan as of Nov. 22, and discussed the possibility of adding an extra docket court day in Westlock.
“Westlock docket court used to sit every Wednesday, but the days were not fully utilized, while Barrhead docket court was sitting late into the evening. Approximately five to six years ago, the third Wednesday was moved from Westlock to Barrhead to maximize time and resources available, while reducing overtime and late sittings in Barrhead,” clarified Jones.
Baird said that at the time, the chief prosecutor told him he would look into the matter.
“We are monitoring the activity in the Westlock docket court to determine whether returning a docket day to Westlock is necessary,” said Jones.
