Crown attorneys file more workplace grievances against province

The union for Manitoba Crown attorneys has filed new grievances related to health and security issues and a delay in filling senior roles, as part of their longstanding battle over heavy workloads and a shortage of staff.

The Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneys filed the two grievances against the provincial government in late August, said president Michael Desautels, a senior Crown prosecutor.

The first grievance is two-pronged. It focuses on concerns about air quality and asbestos remediation at the Woodsworth Building on Broadway and Kennedy Street — where the main prosecutions offices are located, along with other Manitoba Justice offices — as well as the security of the Crown prosecutions office in Dauphin, and the Winnipeg offices of other government lawyers represented by the association.

Desautels and Ben Wickstrom, a prosecutor and spokesman for the Crown association, did not want to delve into details about the the security-related concerns, but said Crowns can be put at risk due to the nature of their work.

“We need to make sure we’re doing everything the government has already identified in terms of keeping prosecutors and other justice department employees safe,” said Wickstrom.

That includes security at the entrances and exits of their workplaces and surveillance and monitoring of the locations, said Desautels.

The association said safety is an issue when prosecutors and civil Crown attorneys work alone late into the evening.

The Woodsworth Building has asbestos in some of its ceiling tiles and walls; remediation work is ongoing, but is taking “forever,” said Wickstrom.

“We’re raising this not as a negotiation thing — it’s more like, ‘Hey, there’s 400 prosecutions employees in here, about 200 lawyers and 200 support staff, and a whole raft of other folks, and the building’s literally crumbling,’” said Desautels.

Air quality concerns will only be addressed once the asbestos is removed, Wickstrom said. That’s when the ducts can be cleaned.

The second new grievance was filed because Desautels said the provincial government has been dragging its feet on filling general counsel positions in the Crown’s office.

The positions involve the most senior lawyers, who provide policy direction, handle large and complex cases and give advice to other lawyers and the police, among other duties.

At least four of those positions, which are stipulated in the association’s collective agreement, are vacant.

The association argues the province has failed to post the positions in a timely manner.

Three new positions are supposed to be filled by Oct. 1, as per the collective agreement, but the positions were only posted after the grievance was filed Aug. 25, said Desautels.

The hires would bring the total number of general counsel positions to 25 between the prosecution and civil sides of the Crown office, but there will still be seven vacancies as of next month.

“The impact is big, because the brain drain at our office is at the top end: it’s the general counsel positions, it’s the 20-plus-year lawyers,” said Desautels, himself a general counsel who largely prosecutes complex criminal cases in the Court of King’s Bench.

“These people are important in our office… The lack of folks in those positions really compromises the other work.”

“The lack of folks in those positions really compromises the other work.”

The new complaints are in addition to a grievance filed in the spring of 2023 over workload concerns. An arbitrator is set to deal with the grievance in October. Desautels called it ironic that general counsel positions remain vacant while the arbitration hearing for the workload issue is slated for next month.

Officials with the association have long warned the number of Crowns employed by the province has not kept up with a growing workload, as crime rates worsen and cases become more complex, leading to concerns about public safety and the administration of justice.

Desautels said the issue underlies most of the association’s concerns with the ability of its members to prosecute crimes and work on civil cases effectively.

The association estimates, based on current crime rates, workload and other data points, the government currently needs about 20 per cent more lawyers to properly handle the workload. The province currently employs roughly 190 prosecutors and 70 other lawyers represented by the association.

The province has also increasingly turned to hiring private, outside lawyers to prosecute criminal cases and oversee inquests in recent years. A government spokesman said Thursday that has been, in large part, meant to address potential conflicts of interest.

Desautels disputed that explanation, saying the practice is tied to workload concerns and staff shortages in the Crown’s office, arguing the outsourcing has been done arbitrarily.

He pointed to the fact staff Crown prosecutors — who, as a matter of course, work closely with law enforcement — have been assigned to prosecute allegedly corrupt Winnipeg Police Service officers who were recently arrested in a high-profile case.

“It makes a lot more sense to outsource the prosecution of police officers… than of a break-and-enter or an aggravated assault,” said Desautels.

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe, who wasn’t available for an interview Thursday, said in a statement the NDP government is working on shoring up the justice system and has made hires in the Crown’s office and elsewhere in the system.

He said compensation for Crown lawyers was boosted in the collective agreement his government signed with the association in March 2024.

He argued the former Progressive Conservative government failed to provide adequate resources to the system.

“We’re taking a different approach and are committed to working in partnership with Crown attorneys on recruitment and retention strategies,” said Wiebe.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca