EDMONTON, AB: United Conservative Justice Critics Angela Pitt and Mike Ellis have issued the following statement regarding ongoing court delays in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Jordan decision:
“We, along with all Albertans, are frustrated to see such little progress made on addressing the backlog of court cases in Alberta.
“Recent news that an Calgary woman convicted of criminal negligence in the death of her child might walk free due to unreasonable court delays is deeply disturbing and should be a wakeup call to both the provincial NDP and federal Liberal governments to begin taking this crisis seriously.
“In addition to a lack of prosecutorial and support resources, 14 Court of Queen’s Bench positions remain unfilled, despite promises from the Trudeau government. We desperately need this additional capacity and we need our Justice Minister to start effectively advocating on Alberta’s behalf.
“Alberta Judges, prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers agree that ours is one of the worst provinces in the country when it comes to timely access to justice. It’s clear that the NDP is failing victims of crime in Alberta, who because of this government’s incompetence, are not getting the justice they deserve.
“The United Conservatives remain hard at work standing up for these victims and making sure their voices are heard.”