Nunavik’s court continues despite prosecutor strike

Crown prosecutor Frédéric Bénard walks a picket line in front of the Kuujjuaq courthouse Feb. 8 (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Quebec’s Crown prosecutors’ strike is having less effect in Nunavik than in other regions, Jacques Stuart, a Montreal-based defence lawyer, said this past week after returning from court sittings in the region.

Stuart said the region’s travelling court continues to visit communities in spite of the continuing strike, which started earlier this month.

Stuart just returned south from two days of work in Kuujjuaraapik, where he worked on the files of three detainees and some youth protection cases.

“Normally, I’d be there all week, but we’re still processing files,” he said. “Certainly, [the strike] affects the people in these communities, but if you compare Nunavik with other areas of Quebec, the delays aren’t bad. Sometimes the delays in Montreal are longer.”

Quebec’s 1,500 crown prosecutors and government lawyers went on strike Feb. 8, demanding the province hike their pay by 40 per cent as and hire 200 new lawyers.

During the strike, Quebec ordered prosecutors to attend certain trials. In Nunavik, all youth protection cases will continue to be processed, along with cases against detainees.

But logistics remain a challenge, said Stuart, who couldn’t make a flight to Umiujaq last week due to poor weather conditions.

“For that community, we had to postpone all files until next term,” he said, referring to the court’s scheduled return date in mid-April.

Stuart doesn’t believe the strike will last much longer.

“I think we’ll see this resolved soon,” he said. “Something has to be fixed.”

Stuart says lawyers who work in Nunavik often work 10- to 12-hour days, on top of hours spent travelling.

And Crown prosecutors are not paid overtime, he added.

“Their working conditions are terrible,” he said. “If I were in their shoes, I would do the same thing.”

Meanwhile, Quebec Premier Jean Charest said his door is still open to a negotiated settlement with striking Crown prosecutors and government lawyers, even though he has summoned all members of the national assembly to a special session Monday.

“I regret that we are forced to have a special law because the consequences of the absence of the prosecutors is a heavy burden on the system of justice,” Charest told reporters.

Assembly rules will be suspended to rush through a bill the opposition parties say they will oppose, setting wages and working conditions, and specifying fines and penalties for non-compliance.

With files from POSTMEDIA