Federal Court chief justice calls for more independence as court faces budget crunch

Canada’s Federal Court needs more independence from government as it deals with a funding crunch that threatens timely access to justice, says its chief justice.

In an interview with CBC News, Paul Crampton said it is inappropriate that the court, which decides disputes involving federal departments, tribunals and agencies, should have to go “cap in hand” to the government at budget time.

“It is unseemly and it seems wrong for a government that is appearing before the very body that is supposed to be holding it in check or adjudicating its cases, to be able to effectively determine what that other body does through the budget mechanism,” Crampton said from his office in downtown Ottawa.

It’s time to try something new, he said, where the judicial branch of government won’t have to appeal directly to the executive branch.

He points to officers of Parliament, such as the information, privacy and ethics commissioners, who appear before a committee of parliamentarians.

“This parliamentary process that the parliamentary officers avail themselves of — it would be a step in the right direction. Clearly, I feel that some involvement of the legislative branch would be highly desirable.”

• Federal Court strikes down key provisions of Citizenship Act
• Federal Court hearing landmark challenge on indefinite immigration detention
• Federal Court orders public safety minister to make decision in immigration case

Crampton said his court is starving for resources. 

“We don’t have enough staff in the courtrooms. We don’t have enough staff at the registries. And this is giving rise to delays. It comes right back to access to justice.”

The chief justice said the Federal Court needs at least another $25 million to fill dozens of unfilled jobs, translate decisions and implement a new court records management system.

Over the last few years the chief justice said he’s had to cover inflation, salary increases and infrastructure from a stagnant operating budget. Meanwhile, the IT system is just about ready to quit.

“We’re facing within the next two or three years the real risk of a complete failure of that system,” he said with exasperation. “We are now operating with a system that was created in the late ’80s, with software that was programmed at that time, and there’s virtually no one left now who can work with that code.”

While Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould has been supportive of his pleas for more funding, Crampton said the buck appears to stop at the Treasury Board Secretariat, which oversees government spending.

In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the justice minister’s office referred to a statement prepared by the justice department that mentioned competing funding priorities, including the need to alleviate the pressure of large criminal caseloads by appointing 28 more judges to provincial superior courts.

“Unfortunately, however, the government was not in a position to also approve all of [Courts Administration Service’s] request for funding under Budget 2017,” referring to the arm’s length office that administers courts at the federal level.

When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the Treasury Board president said “there was no Treasury Board connection” to CBC’s inquiry. 

Translation can take up to 18 months

In her mandate letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Wilson-Raybould was asked to work with TBS to “enhance the openness of government.”

Crampton explained that must include the simultaneous release of decisions in both official languages. Right now, it can take up to 18 months to have documents translated.

In its most recent budget, the government set aside $2 million over two years to improve translation at the Federal Court. But Crampton said the court needs 10 times that amount.

The chief justice said openness also means electronic access to court records inside and outside the courtroom. He pointed to a recent pilot project where exhibits were accessed electronically and projected onto a screen inside the courtroom for all to see.

“They were saving at least an hour a day if not two hours a day, which is like 15 to 20 per cent per day, which is massive in a 400-day trial. We’re talking registry time, judicial time, time people have to pay their lawyers,” Crampton said.

Looking ahead, the chief justice is also projecting a significant increase in caseload due to, among other things, intellectual property disputes arising from the Canada-European Union trade agreement and a spike in refugee asylum claims.

Article source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federal-court-judiciary-court-1.4178317?cmp=rss