‘Dangerously strained’ Crown attorneys file grievance with province

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/04/2023 (863 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneys filed a grievance with the provincial government Tuesday, saying prosecutors are “dangerously over strained” by large, complex caseloads, with experienced prosecutors leaving for better pay and less stress.

On Wednesday evening, it announced in a news release its membership had voted to reject the province’s final contract offer through the collective bargaining process — sending the two sides to arbitration.

“We’re carrying very high, very serious caseloads,” association president Erika Dolcetti said in an interview pointing to, among other issues, Winnipeg’s record number of homicides in 2022, and no sign of violent crime waning in 2023.

“We’re very concerned something is going to slip through the cracks and that something’s going to have Manitobans less safe (on) the streets.”

Up to 10 prosecutors are on stress leave at present, and the service lost 15 Crowns last year — with two retiring, one appointed to the bench and 12 resigning.

“Lots of our colleagues are leaving prosecutions to go and work on the civil side” in government, Dolcetti said.

“They’re also going to different provinces and the (Manitoba) government is not filling those vacancies when they happen. It’s on the back of the rest of us, where we’re just trying to keep our heads above water and do the best we can on every case we have.”

Dolcetti said the responsibilities of Crown lawyers have been expanding for years, while resources, support and hours have not been adjusted. She said they’re working 50-hour weeks.

She called for the province to take “immediate action” to recruit more prosecutors and retain those already working, noting they have been without a contract since 2022.

Manitoba is at a disadvantage compared to other provinces, said the experienced criminal prosecutor.

“If I went to Saskatchewan today, I would make about $80,000 more than I’m making now,” Dolcetti said, noting the neighbouring province is comparable to Manitoba in terms of violence levels and costs of living.

“We cannot keep Crowns. We cannot retain theme and recruit them,” she said.

“We’re offering positions to Crowns in other jurisdictions and they look at our remuneration and say, ‘No thank you, I’d rather stay in Saskatchewan’ — even when home is in Winnipeg.”

Other provinces are actively recruiting, said Dolcetti, noting a former Manitoba Crown recruited by British Columbia is being offered incentives to recruit other Manitoba prosecutors. “Our government is doing nothing.”

However, Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen said the Progressive Conservative government has done something.

It hired 14 new prosecutors last year, and has since had eight leave, he said Wednesday afternoon in a scrum with reporters.

As of Wednesday, there were 12 vacancies out of 187 positions — nearly a six per cent vacancy rate and a “historical normal,” he said.

(Dolcetti acknowledged the new hires, but said “they are all very junior and replacing senior Crowns.”)

Goertzen said he recognized the changes impacting prosecutions and challenges when it comes to workload, and the government has taken steps to divert cases away from Crown prosecutors to outside counsel when possible.

“I would like us to be in a place where prosecutors feel that they have a manageable workload,” said the minister, who served as justice critic when the PCs were in opposition. “I know these concerns have come up in the past.

“There have been grievances filed in the past under former governments. In my role as attorney general, I take it seriously,” said Goertzen, who has a law degree.

The Tory government launched a tough-on-crime initiative in November, vowing to go after repeat violent offenders, with more funding for police to catch suspects — but not to prosecute them, Dolcetti said.

“We can arrest every single person in Winnipeg, but if you don’t have the prosecutors, it’s going to be ‘catch and release,’” she said. “That’s what we’re concerned about, and we want to keep the public safe.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca