Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m J U L Y 2 0 1 6 7 P roposed legislation will give the Nova Scotia government greater control over judges' salaries. The province's minister of finance says this is being fiscally responsible. The Canadian Bar Association-Nova Scotia, on the other hand, says amendments to the Provincial Court Act will "seriously erode judicial independence." The proposed amendments, which were recently introduced in the legislature, remove language that ensures the salaries and benefits of provincial and family court judges are determined based on binding recommendations from an independent commission. The legislative changes, if passed as anticipated this fall, will give the province the legal authority to use discre- tion on whether to accept, vary, or reject the commission's recommendations. "We recognize the work and impor- tance of the judiciary, particularly as the third branch of government, but at the same time, the public finance side is important. We have concerns that this public finance decision is binding on government," Finance Minister Randy Delorey told Canadian Lawyer. Delorey also points out that only two jurisdictions in Canada, Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories, currently have legislation in place that makes commission recommen- dations on judges' salaries fully binding. In a three-page letter to the finance minister, CBA-N.S. vice president Dennis James says there is no compelling reason to change the existing legislation. "[T]here is no indication that the compensation is excessive in comparison to their colleagues across the country," he says. In December, the 42 family and Pro- vincial Court judges in Nova Scotia were awarded a 3.8-per-cent salary increase, bringing the judiciary's base salary to $231,500, slightly below the national average of $242,637. The province had requested the commission recommend against any salary increase, arguing that judges currently earn in the top one per cent of all taxpayers in the province. What changing the legislation will do is threaten the judiciary's role. "We're concerned the minister's comments min- imize the importance of judicial inde- pendence as mandated by the Supreme Court of Canada," says James. That is not the issue for government, says Delorey. "This is not about the inde- pendence of the judiciary but about our responsibility around public finances. There is no safety net now. We have to ensure we are the final decision -makers." — DONALEE MOULTON donalee@quantumcommunications.ca REGIONAL WRAP-UP AT L A N T I C \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ W E S T Recommendations on judges' salaries not binding N.S. HIRES NEW CHILD EXPLOITATION PROSECUTORS N ova Scotia is hiring two new Crown attorneys and the job description is explicit: to prosecute Internet child exploitation cases. The new hires, made possible through a $192,000 increase in funding for the Public Prosecution Service in the province's most recent budget, are needed to address the growing number of Internet child exploitation cases, a reality all jurisdictions are grappling with, says Martin Herschorn, director of public prosecutions in Halifax. "The volume is such you have to have the capa- bility within your organization to do this." The new prosecutors, who are expected to be in place by this fall, will also serve as relief for the Public Prosecution Service's two existing child exploitation prosecutors. "Having a steady diet of child porn cases can be detrimental to a person's health," says Herschorn. No Crown attorney, he notes, is exclusively assigned to child exploitation cases, "but we have had two positions pretty well dedicated to this." Bringing on additional staff also fulfils one of the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Police and Prosecution Response to the Rehtaeh Parsons Case submitted last fall by Murray Segal, former chief prosecutor and deputy attorney general of Ontario. Specifically, the report recommended: "There should be more Crown counsel available to prosecute [Internet child exploitation] cases, and these Crown counsel should receive increased training in this highly specialized area." As well, the report recommended that Crown attorneys who handle sexual assault cases should receive more training about sexual violence and responses to sexual violence, with a particular focus on trauma-informed responses. Last year, the prosecution service brought together Crown attorneys from across Nova Scotia to provide greater insight and awareness into this issue, although a central approach to handling cases will remain in place, says Herschorn. — DM

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