Results for: Crown Prosecutors

New Brunswick Crown prosecutors have overwhelmingly voted in favor of strike action, expressing dissatisfaction with the province’s handling of recruitment and retention issues. The New Brunswick Crown Prosecutors Association maintains that the criminal justice system is in a critical state due to a shortage of prosecutors. Despite negotiations spanning over a year, the association remains unsatisfied with the government’s response. The recent strike vote received unanimous support from all Crown prosecutors and family Crown counsel in the province. A conciliation meeting has been scheduled for June 14-15 in an attempt to resolve the dispute.

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ontario prosecutors employed a policy to divert certain impaired driving cases away from criminal courts to alleviate court congestion. Crown prosecutors offered plea deals that downgraded charges to Highway Traffic Act offenses, resulting in fines, license suspensions, and loss of license under the act instead of criminal trials and potential records. However, the Ford government lacks internal tracking systems to monitor the number of cases that benefited from this policy. The policy remains in effect despite criticism from MADD Canada, which expresses concerns about mixed messages regarding zero-tolerance approaches to drunk driving and the actual consequences faced by offenders.