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QUEBEC APPEALING CONTROVERSIAL TURCOTTE DECISION Q uebec's director of criminal and penal prosecutions (DPCP) is appealing a controversial jury verdict in what has been one of the most publicized and gripping trials the province has seen in years. In early July, a jury of seven women and four men found car- diologist Guy Turcotte not criminally responsible on two counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing of his two young children because of his mental state at the time of the killings. Turcotte, 39, admitted stabbing Olivier, 5, and Anne-Sophie, 3, with a kitchen knife in their beds on Feb. 20, 2009, saying he wanted to take the children with him after he attempted suicide by swallowing wind- shield washer fluid. Defence lawyer Pierre Poupart argued during the emotional 10-week trial that Turcotte was depressed over his breakup with wife Isabelle Gaston, also a doctor, and was not in his right mind because of suicidal delirium combined with the methanol poisoning of the washer fluid. Crown prosecutor Claudia Carbonneau maintained that the evidence showed that Turcotte had a plan, was of sound mind, and stabbed the children out of vengeance. As the marriage broke down, his wife had become intimately involved with a personal trainer who was a friend of the couple and she had demanded a divorce. "Just because someone has a mental health problem, it does not mean they are not responsible," Carbonneau told the court. The DPCP said in a brief state- ment it was appealing the Turcotte verdict on grounds that Quebec Superior Court Justice Marc David "erred in law on points susceptible of influencing the jury in its conclusion of not criminally responsible by reason of mental troubles." The appeal follows a pub- lic uproar over the verdict. A Facebook page titled La prison à vie pour Guy Turcotte (Life in prison for Guy Turcotte) — has attracted more than 2,340 supporters and there are plans for public demonstrations. One woman put a protest sign on her lawn. Public interest in the case also led the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec to name five adjudicators, instead of the usual three, to staff an August review board hearing on whether or not Turcotte repre- sents a danger to society because of any mental health condition, CENTRAL dispute that resulted in a two-week strike and back-to-work legislation last February. Marc Lajoie, president of the Association des juristes de l'État, which represents some 900 lawyers and notaries who work for the government, says under the agreement-in- principle approved by 94 per cent in a mid- July vote, association members will receive salary increases between 15 and 18 per cent retroactive to April 1, 2011. That is on top of the six-per-cent increase all public sector workers, including lawyers, will receive for the April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2015 period. Importantly, lawyers will also now be eligible for payment for overtime performed above the 35-hour workweek, says Lajoie. And the government agreed to the establishment of a committee, with direct participation by the Quebec Treasury Board, to oversee the mechanics of future contract negotia- tions. "It does not guarantee results, but it will guarantee that there is a credible process to have real discussions with the employer so we don't have to resort to a strike five years from now," says Lajoie. The L is in sight awyers who work in the Quebec public service are set to sign a new collective agreement this fall after a negotiated end to an acrimonious labour Marc Lajoie The union had been pushing for arbitration as a mecha- nism to settle disputes. It has led to improvements in work- ing conditions for lawyers in other provinces, notably Ontario. The Quebec government has categorically refused to entertain the idea, insisting it would effectively put decision- making on government spending in the hands of outsiders. There will also be "high-level" discussions on more than 100 complaints launched by the association over non- lawyers performing legal work for the government. In one unusual twist, the government has agreed to pay each lawyer $5,000 — once the formal agreement is signed — for imposing working conditions on government lawyers in a separate round of back-to-work legislation in 2005. In return, the association agreed to drop ongoing legal chal- lenges to the 2005 and 2011 laws dictating compensation and working conditions. The association representing some 470 provincial Crown prosecutors had formed a common front with the jurists' association for contract negotiations leading up to last win- ter's strike, but broke off the collaboration after the back-to- work legislation. Its legal challenges against the government are continuing. — KL www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com SEPTEMBER 2011 9 end C ontinued on pa g e 10