Crown prosecutor strike threatens Nunavik court

(updated Feb. 9, 11:13 a.m.)

Nunavik’s travelling court won’t grind completely to a halt due to a strike by crown prosecutors and government lawyers across Quebec, which started Feb. 8.

But the travelling court will slow down.

Despite the strike, the court continues to function in Nunavik, said Gilles Roch, the chief travelling court organizer, who is based in Amos.

Roch said a court team, including two prosecutors, was in Puvirnituq Tuesday afternoon, processing youth protection files.

And all youth protection cases will continue to be heard and processed during the strike, Roch said in Feb. 10.

As well, cases will proceed against all detainees, he said.

Quebec ordered crown prosecutors to be present in certain trials, including those where a jury was been selected or where there’s been a request for a trial delay.

But all other cases will be postponed, Roch said.

About 1,000 government lawyers and 450 crown prosecutors in Quebec are demanding a 40 per cent hike in pay — an amount they say will put them on par with their counterparts elsewhere in Canada.

They are also asking the province to hire 200 new lawyers.

Quebec’s prosecutors and lawyers have said they are among the most overworked and underpaid in North America, making it difficult to recruit workers to the profession.

Prosecutors won the right to strike in 2003, after the government refused to engage in binding arbitration with them.

The two sides began negotiating last spring.

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