Two days after a provincial court judge issued a stay of proceedings in a Prince George grow op case due to lengthy pre-trial delays, the NDP brought up the issue of judicial resources in question period Thursday.
NDP MLA Leonard Krog alluded to the example of Van Bao Pham in the legislature when he asked Justice Minister Suzanne Anton why some serious criminal cases are thrown out before making it to trial.
"Can the Minister of Justice explain why this is still happening after years of both the judiciary and people involved in the legal community pointing out that there was a genuine crisis in our legal system?" Krog asked.
On Tuesday, Provincial Court Judge Victor Gailbraith determined that 12 1/2 months worth of delays in Pham's trial were unnecessary. He attributed six months of those to delays from Crown counsel and 6 1/2 months to a lack institutional resources. Pham, who was first arrested in 2010, had been facing charges in relation to a marijuana grow up with 1,670 plants, a case Gailbraith said he was told was complex by lawyers involved in the proceedings.
Anton said that although it was regrettable the charges were stayed due to delays, she pointed out that it was a federal Crown rather a provincial Crown in charge of the case. She also touted the province's success in reducing the number of stays caused by institutional delays.
In Pham's case a trial had been scheduled in January, but it was delayed due to a lack of court time. That pushed the new trial date to this week, which Gailbraith determined constituted hardship on the accused as he needed to pay for legal counsel and make an extra trip to Prince George from his new home in the Lower Mainland.
"We are determined to find ways to take the pressure off the courts and to help expedite the process of justice and the process in the courts, because everybody in British Columbia is entitled to timely and accessible justice," Anton said. "That's the mantra of justice reform, and that's what we're aiming for in our ministry."
