Burnout among Crown attorneys so bad, it’s akin to PTSD: survey

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This article was published 13/02/2025 (204 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

More than 60 per cent of Manitoba Crown attorneys who prosecute criminal cases, who responded to a morale and mental health survey, met the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety or depression.

The survey was commissioned by their union, the Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneys, and the provincial government’s Crown law division in 2023.

The union confirmed figures from the survey results, including that 16 of the 150 criminal prosecutors surveyed had contemplated suicide in the year prior to the survey.

The survey found, among criminal prosecutors in particular, high rates of trauma from work, high rates of burnout and low morale.

Union president Christian Vanderhooft, a senior prosecutor who largely handles homicide cases, said the bottom line is that caseloads must be reduced; the government must increase the complement of prosecutors in Winnipeg and regional offices.

“When we say there’s a workload issue and people are feeling a certain way, we’re not saying that in a vacuum or because of imaginary things that we perceive — we’ve actually had a report produced that backed up what we were saying,” said Vanderhooft.

“There’s lots of things you can do as an organization to address mental health issues and workplace issues, wellness issues… but fundamentally, if you don’t address workload, none of those things are going to matter.”

Vanderhooft said the concern about heavy caseloads is longstanding, while the crime rate, particularly violent crime, remains particularly high in Manitoba.

An arbitration hearing will take place in October in relation to the union’s grievance over heavy caseloads, which was filed in spring 2023.

The Free Press obtained a backgrounder prepared by the union to supplement the confidential report on the survey.

Ben Wickstrom, a prosecutor and a spokesman for the union, noted the figures related to mental health indicate respondents simply met the survey’s criteria for the disorders — not that they were necessarily diagnosed with those disorders.

The survey, conducted over three weeks in April and May 2023, received responses from 150 criminal Crown prosecutors, 97 criminal Crown support staff, 56 Crown lawyers who handle civil cases and 25 civil case support staff, amounting to an 87 per cent response rate.

The backgrounder indicates 63 per cent of criminal Crowns were experiencing burnout, with civil Crowns at 40 per cent. Ninety-four per cent of prosecutors said they experienced trauma from their work and 85 per cent said they have unmanageable workloads.

Only three per cent of prosecutors said they felt valued by their employer, the government, and 12 per cent said they think their workplace prioritizes its employees. Fifty-two per cent said their career would suffer if they disclosed their mental health issues.

Just seven per cent of prosecutors said they’re adequately paid for their work. Twenty-five per cent of prosecutors said they had the capacity to carry out their work as expected.

Civil Crown lawyers reported less work stress than criminal Crowns.

“When we say there’s a workload issue and people are feeling a certain way, we’re not saying that in a vacuum or because of imaginary things that we perceive — we’ve actually had a report produced that backed up what we were saying.”–Christian Vanderhooft

The union is slated to meet with Justice Minister Matt Wiebe to discuss caseload and other concerns next week.

In an interview Thursday, Wiebe pointed the finger at the former Tory government, which was in power at the time the survey was taken.

He said the Tories disrespected Crown prosecutors, and that the New Democratic Party is working on the issues raised by the union.

“We started by rebuilding the relationships with our Crowns, settling the contract that was outstanding to increase their compensation, and start to address some of the recruitment and retention issues,” he said, adding the province has hired 35 new Crown attorneys.

After years of labour strife, the government reached a contract with Crown attorneys in spring 2024 that involved a 13.7 per cent wage settlement over five years. The settlement, reached through arbitration, runs from March 26, 2022 to March 19, 2027. There were other wage increases tied to years of seniority.

Wiebe said the province has implemented a new workplace well-being and culture committee to address some of the issues raised by the survey. It also increased mental health training.

He was not specific about the government’s timeline to address the caseload concerns or whether it will increase the number of positions in the prosecution’s office complement.

Vanderhooft said the NDP government, despite having hired new prosecutors, did not create the positions under which they were hired. The positions were created under the Tories, he said, and at least one-third of the 35 new hires have resigned.

“What we’re wanting (the NDP government) to do is make commitments to address the ongoing problem,” said Vanderhooft.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca