NS Minister of Justice says planning, not shortages behind judicial problems

Nova Scotia’s Attorney General says he is willing to wait for a new county court chief judge to be appointed, rather than address the concerns of the current chief judge, Pam WIlliams.

In a speech last month, Williams said the courts are struggling to keep up with the volume and complexity of today’s business. She said that even with a full complement of 28 judges in Nova Scotia, there are difficulties. There are currently two vacancies due to recent retirements and a third judge is on extended leave.

After a cabinet meeting Thursday, Attorney General Brad Johns said he was willing to fill the two vacancies but would not accept the idea of ​​expanding the court.

“I’m not committed to doing this right now,” Johns said. “I know Chief Judge Williams’ term is almost up and I expect there will be a new Chief Judge. Good.”

When asked if he would just wait Williams out, Johns initially said yes, but then backtracked on that answer. He said scheduling issues have also hampered the courts and he said that is the responsibility of the chief justice.

“It’s easy to throw shade and say, ‘We don’t have enough judges, we don’t have enough judges,’ but part of this is also the responsibility of the judiciary, I think,” Johns said.

Earlier this week, an indictment against him from Nova Scotia was dismissed as the case had been heard, but no decision was made as the judge went on leave. A new judge ruled that the case had gone on too long.

Johns said the problem in that case was scheduling.

“That case was plagued by the fact that, if I remember correctly, the judge who was to hear the case was on extended leave,” Johns said. “Why was this long-term leave not discussed earlier?”

The problem with the number of judges is not unique to Nova Scotia. Earlier this week, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Richard Wagner said there are currently about 80 job openings in higher courts across the country. He said some courts have vacancy rates of 10 to 15 percent.

“These empty positions have a significant impact on the administration of justice,” Wagner said.

The Nova Scotia Supreme Court is fully staffed for criminal cases, but there are two vacancies in the family division. There is also a vacancy at the court. Filling those vacancies is the responsibility of the federal government.