According to the Globe and Mail, the number of criminal cases stayed in Quebec has more than quadrupled this year due to court delays. There were 18 cases stayed in 2022 and 75 cases have been stayed in 2023 so far. Between March 1 and September 22 this year, Quebec ended an additional 196 criminal cases by nolle prosequi, a procedure where the prosecution declines to pursue the case. An order of nolle prosequi is not an acquittal, but in almost all instances closes the case. According to Frédérik-Xavier Duhamel for the Globe and Mail, Quebec’s prosecution service (DPCP) “said this allowed it to prioritize and meet Jordan deadlines with other cases as weather, staffing, housing and other issues compounded delays in northern Quebec…”[1] Last year, the court of appeal was asked by the Quebec government to rule on a decision regarding the number of days judges sit for trial. The Court policy was changed to shorten the number of days that judges sit and it has been a controversial decision ever since. The Quebec Minister of Justice and the DICP blames this new court policy for the increase of delays and Jordan stays, while the judges and the defence blame the delays made by the mistakes of the prosecution and the police.[2] Either way, it seems delays and stays of proceedings are likely to continue at this rate if nothing is done to address the problem. The broader question of using the Jordan ceiling as a means of managing the caseload raises new and different questions, including the impact of public confidence in the system.
[1] Frédérik-Xavier Duhamel, “More than 300 criminal cases stayed or dropped in Quebec due to court delays, documents reveal,” The Globe and Mail, December 4, 2023. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-quebec-criminal-cases-court-delays/
[2] Duhamel, “More than 300 criminal cases stayed.”
