Federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould says the government could 鈥渁bsolutely鈥� do better to tackle long waits within the court system that have allowed several recent cases to be tossed out for unreasonable delays.
On Wednesday, the that lawyers across Canada have allegedly tried to toss out more than 800 cases for charges including murder, attempted murder and manslaughter because of unreasonable delays.
In July, the Supreme Court set tight new limits on timelines for court cases: 18 months for cases in provincial court and 30 months for cases in superior court.
Wilson Raybould spoke with CTV鈥檚 Power Play Friday to explain what the government is doing about the backlogged justice system.
WHAT鈥橲 BEING DONE TO CRACK DOWN ON DELAYS?
Well there鈥檚 a lot that鈥檚 being done, a lot of work that鈥檚 happening. As I鈥檝e said many times, the prime minister has asked me to do a comprehensive review of the criminal justice system, and that includes sentencing reform, committed to ensuring we move with appointments of more Superior Court judges and have recalibrated the judicial appointment process.
And there鈥檚 a significant amount of work that鈥檚 happening between myself and among my colleagues, the attorneys general across the country, in terms of looking at all of the realities of why there鈥檚 delays in the courts. And because the administration of justice is a shared responsibility, working with them to resolve as much as we can the issues.
HOW WORRIED SHOULD CANADIANS BE ABOUT ACCUSED CRIMINALS NOT BEING TRIED OVER UNREASONABLE DELAYS IN THE COURTS?
Well I want Canadians to be confident in the justice system. Can we do better in terms of ensuring that we tackle delays in a comprehensive way to ensure that we are falling within the requirements of the Jordan decision that you mentioned? Absolutely. And that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e doing not only within our jurisdiction but working with the provinces in terms of the administration of justice.
WHAT CONCRETE STEPS ARE BEING TAKEN TO SPEED UP THE PROCESS?
There鈥檚 a lot of things that can be done. And I have to give credit to some of my provincial counterparts in the province of Ontario and Quebec and in Alberta that are taking steps to improve the administration on their part to speed things along. There has been some discussions and alternatives that some provinces have been moving forward on 鈥� preliminary inquiries, as you reference. I鈥檓 open to hearing solutions in that regard.
We鈥檙e looking at mandatory minimum penalties, certainly recognize the need for mandatory minimums in the most serious of crimes.
But taking heed of the Supreme Court of Canada decision that has rendered many unconstitutional, looking at the need to ensure that we provide the necessary discretion to judges to be able to impart the sentence they deem appropriate.
These are all things that the evidence has shown that if we tackle in a comprehensive way, if we look at potentially reducing the number of mandatory minimums, that the delays we鈥檙e seeing could be somewhat alleviated.
WHAT MESSAGE ARE YOU SENDING TO FAMILIES OF VICTIMS?
Well I want Canadians, families of victims of horrible crimes, to have confidence in the justice system and to know that we鈥檙e doing everything we can to ensure that we address delays where delays exist.
And we need to ensure that we have a justice system that serves all Canadians, that people have confidence in it, and that we ensure that we acknowledge and recognize vulnerable individuals that find themselves in the criminal justice system and that we uphold and protect victims of crime to the best of our abilities.
And that鈥檚 where I鈥檓 really pleased to be working with my counterparts in the provinces and territories to be able to do that.
