A Prince George provincial court judge took federal Crown counsel to task Tuesday for failing to have a lawyer appear at a hearing for a woman seeking to change her pleas on two drug-related charges.
Judge Michael Brecknell said the Public Prosecution Service of Canada has yet to name the new holder of the contract to provide the service in Prince George and other communities in northern B.C. despite the old one with now-defunct Kaun Law Corp. having ended in late 2019.
He said the PPSC is a branch of the federal government and, "in effect, a huge law firm that goes from coast to coast." For such a large agency to fail to send a representative to appear for an important application is "frankly unacceptable," Brecknell said.
The comments were made in relation to Jenna Louise Tardif who is seeking to reverse guilty pleas she had entered on two counts of possessing a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.
No federal Crown counsel appeared for a hearing on the matter on Monday. Federal Crown was also absent on Tuesday when Brecknell issued a decision to give Tardif more time to make her case.
Tardif was among two people arrested on Sept. 6, 2017 after undercover RCMP got hold of a cellphone number and used it to arrange for a purchase of illegal drugs. She was the passenger in what turned out to be a stolen pickup truck and a search uncovered quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin-fentanyl in and around the vehicle.
In March 2019, the truck's driver, Cameron Gregory Boyes, was sentenced to three years probation after he pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing for the purpose of trafficking.
Tardif had also pleaded guilty to the counts but in February 2019 she applied to have her decision reversed. Brecknell said a date for a hearing on the matter was set in November 2019 and a notice sent to PPSC.
Brecknell said he will be forwarding a transcript of his comments to the B.C. Provincial Court Chief Judge's office and to the PPSC seeking answers.
In response from the Citizen for a request for comment, a PPSC spokesperson said the firm of Jabour Sudeyko Lucky was granted a fixed-term agreement in January. The firm is based in North Vancouver.
