Latest news with #CrownCounsel
CBC
23-05-2025
- CBC
B.C. prosecutors file workload grievance over staff shortages, citing court delays
The B.C. Crown Counsel Association says it has filed a formal workload grievance against the B.C. Prosecution Service over what it calls "inadequate staffing" in its Okanagan and Kootenay offices. The association representing 550 Crown prosecutors across B.C. says that while staffing and resource shortages impact all of its lawyers, issues in Vernon, Kelowna, Penticton, Nelson and Cranbrook are "particularly acute." It says the prosecution service has continuously breached its collective agreement with respect to managing staffing levels. The association says that paired with an increasing workload in those growing communities, the issue is harming prosecutors' ability to prepare and bring cases to court in a timely manner. It says it is now seeking an arbitrator's declaration that the employer has breached the contract and must meet its contractual obligations by hiring more staff. Adam Dalrymple, president of the B.C. Crown Counsel Association, says the region needs 20 more Crown counsel to handle the current workload, representing a 25 per cent increase. "Our job is to uphold the rule of law in B.C. and keep the public safe to the very best of our ability," he says in a news release. "However, the workload is excessive, and a shortage of Crown Counsel threatens our ability to bring cases to court on time." Dalrymple says the conditions are also causing burnout among its members. "These working conditions affect our ability to attract and retain more Crown Counsel," he said.
CTV News
20-05-2025
- CTV News
Vancouver Island Mountie charged with breach of trust
An officer with the Nanaimo RCMP has been charged with breach of trust, according to officials. Const. Mark Tyler Hilland is facing the charge in connection with 'events that are alleged to have occurred in Nanaimo between July 2 and 3, 2024,' the BC Prosecution Service said in a statement Tuesday. 'The charges were approved by an experienced Crown counsel who has no connection with the accused.' His first appearance is set for provincial court in Nanaimo on June 17. No further details were provided.
Globe and Mail
17-05-2025
- Globe and Mail
Vancouver officer charged a year after pedestrian strike in Downtown Eastside
The BC Prosecution Service says a Vancouver police officer has been charged under the Motor Vehicle Act for driving without reasonable consideration for others, a year after a pedestrian was hit in the city's Downtown Eastside. The prosecution service says Constable Aaron Carter faces the charge after B.C.'s police watchdog was called in to investigate the crash. The Independent Investigations Office said in a statement at the time that a man was walking on East Hastings near Dunlevy after midnight on May 21, 2024, when he was hit by a police vehicle. A statement from the office last year says the man was taken to hospital with serious injuries, and it forwarded a report to the prosecutor's office, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe the officer may have committed driving offences. The prosecution service says the charge was approved by an 'experience Crown counsel with no connection' to the officer. Carter's first appearance in Vancouver provincial court is set for June 18.
