Manitoba Crown attorneys push labour grievance

Crown attorneys in Manitoba will proceed with a nearly three-year-old labour grievance against the province, citing unmanageable caseloads that arecausingwork-related illnesses and burnout, CBC News has learned.

The Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneyssaid Wednesday the move comes after months of waiting for Justice Minister Dave Chomiak to act on a prosecutions branchmanagement-employee report on workloads.

The reportrecommends hiring70 additional Crown lawyers and 70support staff over the next seven years,nearly doubling the size of the department.

MACA spokeswoman Lisa Carson said employees are frustrated bythe lack of appropriate response from government.

She said in a letter sent out Wednesday thatthe province has committedto hiring the equivalent of8.5 full-time Crown lawyers this year, and nine in 2010.

But it's not enough, Carson said.

"Collectively on the part of the membership there is disappointment, and there's an anxiousness to have a resolution to this problem," Carson said.

MACAofficiallyfileda grievance in December 2006 but chose instead to try to deal withworkload issuesthrough the establishment of the working group which drew up the report and its recommendations.

In addition to new staff, Carson said, the group's report recommends the average caseload for Crowns be much less than the current average of 319.

Carson said some Crown prosecutors working in rural Manitoba's circuit courts carry upwards of500 cases at a time.

In addition to increased work-related fatigue and stress, Carson said,there's alsoincreasing danger that criminal prosecutionsand other serious cases will suffer from mistakes made by overworked lawyers.

Carson added she's hopeful Chomiak will take notice and act on the report's recommendations, addingCrown attorneys are prepared to let the matter be decided byan arbitrator.

Other provinces facing cuts

Don Slough, Manitoba's assistant deputy attorney general, saidprovincial justice officialsare awarethat Crown attorney workloads are high andit's MACA's right tomoveforward with the grievance.

But, he said, workloads for Crown lawyers in Saskatchewan and Alberta are similar to those in Manitoba.

He also said Manitobais adding staffwhileother places in Canada are cutting back.

"Mostof themare facing either cuts or stagnation ... I think all of them would be jealous of the influx of resources we've got in the next two years," Slough said.

He said the 8.5 new positions promised for this year have already been hired and he called their addition to the department "significant" ingloomy economic times.

"In this current climate, this is a step forward."