Crown attorneys union scores win ahead of hearing

The union for Manitoba Crown attorneys is applauding an arbitrator’s decision to approve the admission of an expert report on workload issues at an upcoming grievance hearing with the province.

The ruling, by arbitrator Michael Werier, involves a report commissioned by the Manitoba Association of Crown attorneys that expands on a 2023 survey of union members about workload and health issues.

“The decision to admit the survey of our membership allows us to properly make our case about the conditions our members face,” association president Michael Desautels said in a news release.

“As the decision makes clear, the use of this kind of expert opinion is well established in Canadian labour law. It was unfortunate that the government felt the need to litigate this issue in the first place.”

In a grievance hearing scheduled to begin Nov. 23, the association intends to rely on the survey and report by Erin Deviney to show that the province has failed to address issues related to excessive workload.

The province opposed admitting the Deviney Report into evidence but consented to the admission of a 2023 survey by Dr. Lisa Kitt and Dr. Nathalie Gagnon (the Kitt Report).

The province argued the findings in the Deviney Report amounted to hearsay and were not a reliable measure of workload, while Kitt, a registered clinical psychologist, was more qualified to testify about workload and mental health issues.

The association said it hired Deviney to determine whether there had been any improvement since the Kitt Report and that it would be prejudicial not to admit the Deviney Report into evidence.

Werier ruled that the Deviney Report and survey were admissible, stressing any weight placed on the evidence would be decided after it was heard at the grievance hearing.

“The only way to resolve the difference in opinions is to hear from the experts who are subjected to cross-examination,” Werier said. “It is premature to make findings about any alleged deficiencies in the absence of this testimony… The survey should be admitted and weight can be determined after final submissions.”

While the NDP government has done a better job of filling Crown attorney vacancies than its predecessor, it has done nothing to expand the roster in the face of increasing workload demands, association vice-president Ben Wickstrom said Wednesday.

Wickstrom estimated the province would need to add 50 full-time Crown attorney positions to meet curent workload demands.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca