(Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Alberta crown prosecutors say strike is possible, could impact criminal proceedings

Apr 7, 2022 | 2:22 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – An organization representing crown prosecutors in Alberta says there is a “crisis in the justice system” and that job action could happen in the near future.

Dallas Sopko, President of the Alberta Crown Attorney’s Association (ACAA), says the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS) is “chronically underfunded.”

In a letter addressed to Premier Jason Kenney and Justice Minister Tyler Shandro, Sopko writes that “Crushing file loads, inadequate mental health supports, and uncompetitive compensation have led to dozens of unfilled prosecutor positions. We have seen a significant number of prosecutors leave the ACPS for places like British Columbia and Ontario, to the extent that the ACPS often seems like a farm team for other prosecution services.”

In 2017, the provincial government made a commitment to hire 50 crown prosecutors, enough to effectively eliminate the staffing shortage. The UCP carried on this commitment when they came into power in 2019.

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“Investigation revealed that your 2.5-year-old commitment had, in fact, gone almost virtually unfulfilled,” says Sopko. “At that time, there were approximately 47 vacancies, meaning your government was coming up 94% short of what had been promised, despite your government’s assurance to rural Albertans that the crime that plagues their communities was being addressed.”

Sopko adds that quite a few senior prosecutors have found work elsewhere in places like B.C. and Ontario, leaving the remaining lawyers overwhelmed.

The Supreme Court of Canada’s 2016 R. v. Jordan decision established that provincial court trials must be heard within 18 months of charges being laid, or 30 months for matters in Court of Queen’s Bench.

Due to those timelines, Sopko explains that there are already many criminal cases that are in danger of being thrown out.

“The statistics show that there are close to 2,000 serious and violent cases that are over the presumptive ceiling that was set out by the Supreme Court in Jordan, and in total, there are more than 3,000 cases in Alberta that are at risk.”

Were a prolonged strike to occur, those numbers could be even higher.

Sopko tells LNN that he wants to avoid a strike and that the government only needs to do one small thing to prevent one from happening.

“All we need to resolve this issue at this point in time is a minor amendment to the legislation that prevents us from collectively bargaining and a commitment by the government, a formal one, to allow us to collectively bargain on behalf of prosecutors.”

Crown prosecutors would seek better pay and improved mental health supports, among other provisions, but gaining the ability to negotiate on behalf of their 380 members would be enough for now.

While reiterating that a strike is something that Sopko assures he does not want, he is willing to take that step if necessary.

“We hope that Albertans know that we don’t take this decision lightly, and the last thing we want is to have to tell more victims that they won’t get their day in court, but we’re really in a corner. We’re in a desperate situation where the government has neglected us for so long that, to maintain the long-term viability of our prosecution service, to make Alberta a safe place for Albertans, we’ll be left with no choice soon if the government doesn’t act.”

ACAA members met Wednesday to discuss the next possible courses of action. They are going to give the government a couple of weeks before meeting again.

If the ACAA does not see a “real commitment” from the government, Sopko says there is a “high likelihood” that they will be on strike in the near future.

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