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Editorial: Let’s speed up the wheels of justice

The wheels of justice, goes a centuries-old saying, turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine. But when those wheels turn too slowly, they don’t grind at all — cases can be thrown out when they take too long to get to trial.

The wheels of justice, goes a centuries-old saying, turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine. But when those wheels turn too slowly, they don’t grind at all — cases can be thrown out when they take too long to get to trial. Even when cases are finally resolved, long delays erode the quality of justice and work hardship on victims, witnesses and the accused.

The system needs speeding up across the country, and if a Senate report released this week achieves any measure of improvement, the senators involved will have earned their keep. But changing the glacial pace of justice will require more than reports and recommendations — governments, judges and others involved in the judicial system need to take meaningful action.

The Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs conducted hearings from February through May, listening to 75 witnesses in Ottawa and Nova Scotia, and concluded “that delays are a significant problem in Canada that demands attention.”

The committee says its work is not yet done, and it intends to hold more hearings in Ottawa and other parts of the country. If it comes west, it will get an earful.

For example, in July, a B.C. Supreme Court judge stayed charges against a man stemming from a marijuana grow-op raid in Burnaby in 2011 because it took nearly six years for the case to go to trial.

The judge put part of the blame for delays on the man’s lawyers, but said systemic failings on the part of the Crown and the court contributed to the problem.

Long plagued by backlogs and delays in criminal cases, B.C.’s justice system has been the focus of a green paper, white papers and a 2012 review by lawyer Geoffrey Cowper, who concluded that the system needs a major overhaul.

While B.C.’s overall crime rate is declining, resolution of criminal cases is taking longer and costs are rising.

Cowper pointed, among other things, to entrenched attitudes, inefficient scheduling processes and lack of a clear vision as barriers to a more efficient system.

In response to Cowper’s report, the government made changes that resulted in some modest gains, but it still takes too long in B.C., as in the rest of Canada, for cases to come to trial.

In July, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that only under “exceptional circumstances” should cases in provincial trial courts exceed 18 months. Trials in higher courts, it said, should not exceed 30 months.

It’s one thing for the Supreme Court to order speedier trials; it’s another to implement that order. The volume of paperwork required to support court cases has exploded, for example. The requirements for disclosure in court cases are burying police and lawyers under mountains of documents; that trend must be brought under control.

The Senate report urges the federal government to fill vacancies in provincial superior courts across the country, and more judges are certainly needed in B.C.

While budgets are not the sole problem, it’s unwise to have components of the justice system understaffed and underfunded. Delays not only impede the proper administration of justice, they pile up costs. Making the system more efficient will save money.

More important than efficiency is effectiveness. A ponderous justice system prolongs the ordeal for victims and witnesses, allows perpetrators to go free and unjustly punishes accused persons who have not been proven guilty.

There are no quick and easy fixes to the clogged justice system, but the Senate report contains several sensible recommendations, including modernizing court procedures and implementing alternatives to traditional courts.

Governments should seriously consider these and other steps. Without firm and decisive action, the wheels of justice will only turn more slowly.