According to an Aug. 7 news release from the province, the New Brunswick Crown Prosecutor Association (NBCPA) voted to accept the agreement, bringing to an end a labour dispute that included the NBCPA threatening a work stoppage if a deal was not reached.
However, because the province’s Crowns are considered an essential service, any work action taken would have limitations.
The NBCPA had been threatening to strike over issues of overwork due to a longstanding Crown shortage, failing employee retention and low pay.
Commenting on the agreement being reached, N.B. finance and treasury board minister Ernie Steeves said his government was “extremely grateful” for the “important and challenging” work Crowns do for the province’s residents.
“The government recognizes the valuable contributions of these employees and those that worked diligently on their behalf toward an officially ratified agreement,” said Steeves in a statement.
The release notes that the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada represents around 115 Crowns working in the province.
The short release also states that further details of the deal will be shared “once the agreement is officially signed.” When the government was asked for additional comment, a spokesperson reiterated that more will come when the deal is signed.
Back in May, the NBCPA, which represents the unionized Crowns, announced that an unofficial strike vote was held and that 99 per cent of the association’s members favoured job action should talks fail. The participation rate of the vote was 100 per cent. However, NBCPA president Shara Munn acknowledged at the time that Crown lawyers in New Brunswick are considered an essential service and, thus, there were limits as to the action that could be taken.
Certain duties, such as bail hearings, would have to continue. However, others, such as routine trial matters, charge approvals and warrant reviews, could stop being performed.
At the time, Munn said a Crown strike would be “pretty catastrophic” for the province, given there was already a case backlog.
Munn spoke of overworked Crown prosecutors.
“We’ve been saying for more than a year now that we’re in crisis in almost every location around the province,” she said. “And things are already piled up everywhere, and we’re just kind of having to make it work. And the problem now is we can’t even make it work, no matter how many of us work nights, no matter how many of us work weekends.”
Then there is the problem of relatively low pay.
According to numbers the NBCPA had sent to Law360 Canada, Crowns in New Brunswick are paid less than in any other province. As of May 2024, salaries started at $57,945 and were capped at $144,738.
The problem of backlog, Munn explained at the time, has caused unwarranted delays in some criminal cases, which in some instances has resulted in stays due to constitutional rules around court matters being heard in a timely fashion.
Munn did not return a request for comment on an agreement being reached.
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