Quebec aims to increase number of judges, prosecutors to address case crunch
QUEBEC — The Quebec government is investing $175 million to recruit new judges, prosecutors and other staff to help ease the burden on the province’s overloaded justice system.
The plan is to hire nearly two dozen new judges and more than 50 prosecutors by next September as well as adding courtrooms in Montreal, Sherbrooke and Gatineau.
Justice Minister Stephanie Vallee tabled a bill outlining the government’s plan Wednesday and said the dollar amount would be spread over four years.
The bill comes as the province deals with a crisis due to a Supreme Court judgment in July known as the Jordan decision, which stated that a reasonable delay for a case to reach trial from the time an accused is charged is 18 months in a provincial court or 30 months in a Superior Court.