Court dates scheduled for the provincial court in Sechelt could take a lot longer to get for criminal, family and civil matters, as there is now no permanent sitting judge on the Sunshine Coast. Off-Coast judges will now sit in Sechelt two to three times a week.
Former judge Ann Rounthwaite retired effective Dec. 31, and no replacement has been appointed by the Ministry of the Attorney General. This is despite almost a year of continual requests from acting Chief Provincial Court Judge James Threlfall.
"[Rounthwaite] had notified us that she would be retiring, and we have had a request in to the government, to the Attorney General, to secure an appointment to replace her. To date we have not had an indication that that is going to occur. Our request for an appointment has been in for approximately a year," Threlfall said. "The bottom line is that the impact on the community will be that we had a court sitting a minimum of four days per week. We're going to be sitting two to three days per week and as time goes on, probably down to approximately two days per week until we can secure an appointment."
Threlfall said the delay seems to be partly owing to finances, though not the finances for paying for a new judge. He said the problem seems to be with a lack of funds for the required support staff including sheriffs and court clerks.
"There are, today, governments under a lot of financial pressure and I'm sure that's one of the issues at work here. But from our perspective, we have the budget to pay this judge. We're not asking for anything more. We're simply asking for the appointment," he said.
Threlfall added that Sechelt is not alone in this problem. There are several jurisdictions in the province that are relying on part-time or out-of-town judges.
Dave Townsend, a ministry spokesman, said they are working on the issue. "The whole matter is still being considered by the Ministry," he said.
Townsend could not confirm what kind of delays could be expected in Sechelt or what has prevented the Ministry from appointing a judge already. He could not confirm what Ministry requirements there are for support staff or what the current staffing situation is in Sechelt.
Gibsons councillor Wayne Rowe, a practising Sunshine Coast lawyer, raised the concern at the Jan. 5 council meeting. He said he had spoken with court officials and Threlfall and learned about the potential court date delays.
"In 2009, what they were looking at is an eight-month delay for a half-day criminal trial, four months for a family trial and eight months for a civil trial, and that's with four sitting days," he said. "When it goes down to two days a week, what they are anticipating, a half-day criminal trial will probably go to 10 months, nine months for family and 10 months for a civil trial. If it reduces any further than that, we're going to be well over a year for any trials."
Rowe pointed out that delays for trials and hearings is not the only problem with bringing in off-Coast judges on a temporary basis. He argued that a community is not as well served by judges who come and go.
"They'll have no background in the community. It's important that a judge comes to understand the culture in a community. There's local knowledge that's important, and when you just bring somebody in for a day from somewhere else, they won't have that sense of a community," Rowe said.
Gibsons council resolved to write to Attorney General Michael de Jong asking him to expedite the appointment process and to meet with leaders from the Sunshine Coast Regional District, District of Sechelt and Sechelt Indian Band to lobby de Jong in person for an ideal candidate.
Nicholas Simons, New Democrat MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast, said he is already taking action on the issue. He said he finds it unacceptable.
"I'm going to be making sure the Attorney General knows this isn't appropriate for our community. We shouldn't be left to fend for ourselves while they take their time," he said.
He added he knows this is upsetting for police, Crown prosecutors, lawyers and even the accused, who are entitled to a trial without inappropriate delay. His greatest concerns lay with delays in family matters, which will affect children.
