Northern court delays could continue to snowball
The resulting backlog could spell trouble for people in custody, or those under court-imposed bail conditions, as they await resolutions for their cases.
'Given the (Canadian justice) system is based on the notion that you are innocent until proven guilty and you're entitled to trial within a reasonable time, our concern is always with the people who are in custody,' said Winnipeg-based criminal defence lawyer David Phillips, who represents some clients in Manitoba's north.
'These wildfires have now (affected) a lot of consecutive sittings in many communities… If you've got a community that's evacuated, you're going to miss a lot of court and it takes a long time to get people back and get things up and running.'
Public notices from the Provincial Court of Manitoba indicate between June 2 and June 20, closures affected the communities of Nelson House, Norway House, Gillam, Gods Lake Narrows, Leaf Rapids, Split Lake, Cross Lake, Flin Flon, Cranberry Portage, Pukatawagan, St. Theresa Point and Garden Hill.
Court dates in some other communities — including Poplar River, Little Grand Rapids and Pauingassi First Nation — have also been postponed, owing to smoky conditions or lack of transportation, Phillips said.
Cancellations due to weather or other factors are not uncommon, but the longer they persist, the worse the situation becomes, he said.
The full extent of the backlog is difficult to estimate, but Phillips said the issue could potentially 'snowball' because many northern courts already have limited days on which they operate.
While sitting days differ based on the size and need in various communities, some operate as frequently as once every few months. Larger communities sit more often, and will therefore have larger backlogs, he said.
If communities suffer damage to electric power lines or other critical infrastructure, the delays could extend despite evacuation orders being lifted, he said.
'Once the courts reopen, you've got this enormous backlog, yet, the court still only has a certain amount of resources, you can still only go to these communities a certain number of days a year,' Phillips said.
'The system really is backlogged for a significant period of time, after you have extended cancellations.'
People who are already out on bail and awaiting future court appearances will also be affected. Many of those people are subject to release conditions that will remain in effect until their cases proceed.
Those conditions may include non-contact orders, curfews and orders prohibiting them from returning to specific locations, including their home communities, Phillips said.
'They are usually anxious to try and deal with their cases as soon as possible because they are under these rather stringent conditions,' he said.
'You get in situations where these people end up breaching.'
Premier Wab Kinew announced Monday the provincewide state of emergency imposed May 28 was lifted.
Some wildfire evacuees have already returned to their homes, and thousands more are expected to be on their way back to northwestern Manitoba over the coming days.
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca
Tyler SearleReporter
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press's city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic's creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.
Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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