Provincial court ill-prepared for COVID crisis: chief judge

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This article was published 02/01/2023 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s provincial court was significantly challenged when the COVID-19 pandemic forced shutdowns, delays and a heavy reliance on technology to administer justice.

The courts latest annual report, for 2020-21, which was released Tuesday, provides insight into its attempt to adapt during the crisis.

In her overview, Chief Judge Margaret Wiebe wrote of the pandemic: “We had no idea what was about to bear down on us, how our lives, our courts and the entire justice system would be affected.”

“We had no idea how long the long pandemic would last; we naively thought we could wait it out.”

The court suspended “significant” operations on March 20, 2020, as the virus reached the province, with closures and reopenings depending on rates of infection during subsequent waves.

Wiebe noted many hearings were cancelled and the courts continue to assess how best to tackle the “significant backlog,” which will require discipline and more resources.

The chief judge outlined key lessons learned during the early heights of the pandemic.

The first was that the system was not prepared to “manage a crisis of this magnitude,” nor was it “technologically equipped” to hold hearings remotely.

But, Wiebe wrote, all three levels of court and administration formed a task force to address the challenge, and met regularly with government officials, health experts and players in the justice system, such as Crown and defence lawyers, corrections officials and police, to respond to changing public health orders and safety concerns while keeping the courts running.

Among the changes were the increased use of court appearances by phone for people in remote communities as well as case management conferences, dockets and bail hearings, and a virtual assignment court.

Although the courts used some prior to the pandemic — existing video links to corrections centres were then used for increasing numbers of court appearances, for example — it was insufficient once the virus took told, Wiebe wrote.

The court would like to see the expansion of video links into remote communities, particularly in the north, Wiebe wrote, considering people who have been arrested are often transported, with significant cost, to judicial centres for bail applications or hearings.

“We continue to emphasize that technological solutions must be found to promote timely, efficient access to justice,” Wiebe wrote in her report.

Wiebe also noted although technology can increase access to justice, it is not always appropriate, particularly in criminal hearings.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera