Crown attorneys in Manitoba say they’re overworked and the provincial authorities is just not taking motion to handle the issue.
The Manitoba Affiliation of Crown Attorneys (MACA) says it filed a grievance with the Manitoba authorities again in April 2023 to handle dangerously heavy caseloads carried by Crown attorneys.
However the grievance gained’t be heard till October 2025, and the affiliation says nothing is being achieved within the meantime.
“This authorities has did not take significant motion to handle the workload downside for Crown attorneys in Manitoba,” MACA President Christian Vanderhooft mentioned in an announcement.
“On the identical time, the expectations placed on prosecutors and complexity of the work achieved by them has by no means been extra intense.”
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The surge in instances is being credited to an increase in crime, but in addition extra sophisticated instances, insufficient staffing and stricter timelines for listening to felony issues.
The affiliation says it has additionally misplaced attorneys not too long ago to B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan, attributable to higher pay.
“If this authorities is critical about defending Manitobans and their communities, it should decide to offering the help and assets wanted to prosecute crime,” Vanderhooft mentioned.
“If the province doesn’t transfer on this, we are going to proceed to lose skilled prosecutors to different provinces and push the system previous its limits.
We’d like management from the federal government to maintain our streets protected. All Manitobans rely upon it.”
In an announcement to International Information, Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe says since forming authorities, they’ve employed 30 extra attorneys and signed a brand new deal that considerably improves compensation to assist maintain Crown attorneys within the province.
“For years, the earlier authorities disrespected our Crowns,” Wiebe mentioned. “We’re taking a distinct strategy and are dedicated to working in partnership with Crown attorneys on recruitment and retention methods, supporting them of their important work to maintain Manitobans protected.”
Wiebe additionally says to scale back courtroom delays, they’ve diminished courtroom clerk vacancies throughout the province, together with by 85 per cent in Winnipeg.
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