The B.C. Attorney General may have raised the roster of provincial court judges back closer to a full contingent, but a gaping hole remains in the number of B.C. Supreme Court justices based in Prince George.
From as many as three justices a few years ago, Prince George is down to one, Glen Parrett, and he's sitting only part-time, says local lawyer Harris Johnsen, the B.C. Trial Lawyers Association (BCTLA) northern representative.
The deal with the shortfall, Johnsen said justices are being flown up from Vancouver to hear cases, but it has led to complications.
"What I do is deal with civil cases, that is car accident cases and that sort of thing, and I know of several examples where there was no judge available to hear a trial," Johnsen said.
The federal government appoints Supreme Court justices and Johnsen said the BCTLA is pushing Ottawa to get at least one full-time justice appointed to Prince George, "and hopefully, a local candidate."
The selections are recommended by the Judicial Council of B.C., based in Vancouver, Johnsen noted.
Prince George lawyer Kerri Fisher knows first-hand the trouble the shortage has created.
Not only was a judicial settlement conference - a last formal opportunity to settle a matter before it goes to court - cancelled three weeks ago, but a week later the ensuing trial was postponed, both because no judge would volunteer to fly up.
"This is the second time it's happened to me in a year," Fisher said. "And I've had only three trials that were absolutely going ahead and it's happened twice."
Fisher said thousands of dollars was wasted getting depositions from witnesses who could not show up for the most-recent trial and she's reached the point where she's drafted a letter to authorities responsible for appointing the justices.
"My client, of course, is devastated," Fisher said. "She's worked herself up for this trial, would like to get it over with and then it's cancelled."
No make-up date has been set yet.
"They gave us the next five weeks but of course our calendars get full," Fisher said. "There was no way we could drop everything and do it in the next five weeks."
Federal Minister of Justice press secretary Pamela Stephens has said the search is ongoing.
"In jurisdictions outside the larger urban centres, it is not unusual for the judicial appointment process to take some additional time to complete," she said in an e-mail in late June. "I would also point out that the federal election called earlier this year caused unforeseen delays in the process."
Cariboo-Prince George MP Dick Harris could not be reached for comment Monday.
