Manitoba Justice isn't giving provincial courts the tools they need, say auditor general

A lack of resources from Manitoba's Justice Departmentis creating delays in the provincial court system, the auditor general says.

In a46-page report released on Wednesday, Tyson Shtykalo outlinedseven recommendations for Manitoba's Department of Justicewhich includeimprovingadministration and outdatedtechnology, hiring more staff and providing better service innorthern Manitoba.

The report examined the efficiency of Manitoba's provincial court system and foundcase backlogs and court delays have stalledjustice.

"Without the necessary tools, resources, and long-term strategies, access to justice is challenged," Shtykalo wrote in the report.

While Manitoba is in charge of the provincial court's administrative operations, he says the Justice Department is not living up to court scheduling responsibilities as laid out in the Provincial Court Act.

Judges needmore autonomy and resourcesto safeguard judicial independence from the government, the report says.

Court office vacanciesacross Manitoba

The department should alsoupdate itsinformation technologystrategy, according to Shtykalo, since it now still relies on paper records andoutdated IT systems that bog it down.

"The IT systems lack integration, force users to enter the same information into separate systems multiple times, and have poor reporting functionality," the report says.

High vacancy rates in court offices across Manitoba alsothreatenthe effectiveness of the provincial court system.

That'smost evident in northern Manitoba, where nearly half of all court clerk positions are vacant, according to the report.

While the court inThompson handlesabout 10 to 15 per cent of all cases in Manitoba, its average time to reach a decision on a themost severe charges was 384 days between 2021 to 2022, compared to 329 in Winnipeg.

Northern courts are alsohamstrung by a lack of reliable internetandcellphone servicescausing unequal access to justice.

'No strategy' for staffing issues: report

Decreasing the timebetween when a person first appears in court and a final verdictwould be a significant step forwardand the Justice Department should continue working with provincial courts toreducedelays and backlogs, according to the report.

While everyone has recognized the problem ofstaff shortages in Manitoba "there is no strategy in place to address this issue," wrote Shtykalo.

"The longer a case takes to navigate through the court system, the more resources it consumes," and the provincial court does not expect a decreased workload anytime soon.

The Justice Department agreed with all of the report's recommendations, except one involving a review of the provincial court's administrative system, which it said will be raised at a future Manitoba Courts executive board meeting.

Matt Wiebe, the NDP justice critic, says the report shows that Manitoba courts cannot provide the justice that its citizens need. Austerity by the PC government has hurtthe court's efficiency, pushed prosecutors out and eroded community safety, he said.

"It's just more evidence that you can't believe Stefanson's tough-on-crime rhetoric," Wiebe said in a Wednesday statement.