Quebec court delays lead to cases against alleged criminals being dropped

There are growing concernslengthy delays in Quebec's court system will compromise the province's ability to bring to justice suspects charged following investigations by Quebec's anti-corruption unit,UPAC.

The Supreme Court of Canada's ruling last Julyset new deadlines for completing trials provincial court cases must now be completed within 18 months, and Superior Court cases must now make it through the trial processwithin 30 months.

Since then,Quebec courts have received dozens of applications for a stay of proceedings because of cases takingtoo long to go to trial 153 in all, as of Nov. 3.

Laval ex-mayor's trial to proceed?

On Monday,PartiQubcoisjustice criticVroniqueHivonmade a formal appeal to Justice MinisterStphanieValleto let the public know the state of the system.

"They have to tell us how many people who are awaiting trial are at risk of being released because of this situation," saidHivon.

She said the current state of court delays could impact legal proceedings against the former mayor of Laval, GillesVaillancourtand his 33 remaining co-accused.

Vaillancourtand36 otherswere arrested in May 2013 under aUPACoperation called "Project Honorer."

They arealleged to have participated in a kickback scheme involving municipal contracts.Vaillancourtand two of Laval'sformer senior administrators are also charged with gangsterism.

They're due back in court for a case management hearing on Dec. 12.Vaillancourt'strial, expected to last four tosix months,has tentatively been set for next fall.

• A closer look at the Quebec political figures arrested byUPAC

Hells Angels memberreleased due to delay

Last Thursday, businessman Luigi Coretti, who was facing charges of fraud and forgery in connection with the accounting operations of his security agency,was the latest to havethose charges dropped.

Coretti had waited since 2012 for his case to go to trial.

Earlier this month, four alleged drug traffickers, including Richard "Bob" Hudon, one of the founding members of theQuebec Hells Angels,obtained a stay of proceedings at the Quebec City courthouse.

They had waited more than 60 months for a trial date ondrug-related charges.

About a week after that, a Quebec Court judgeinJoliettethrew out the case of contractorChristianBlanchet, who was arrested onfraud, breach of trust and conspiracy charges, because of unreasonable court delays.

More funding, cracking down on abuse

Last April, a former chief justice of the Quebec Superior Court,FranoisRolland, told a Senate committeeit would soon be impossible to get a Quebec Superior Court date in Montreal before 2017.

He said there were a few dates available in 2018, and dates in 2019 are already being booked, addingthat the state of affairs is similar in Quebec City.

In early October, three months after the Supreme Court ruling imposing new time limits,Justice Minister Stphanie Valle announcedshe and the province's top judges and lawyers had worked out a plan to speed up access to the courts.

• Quebec works to curb long waits for court dates

However, Claudie Prmont, president of the Quebec Bar Association, said that commitment isn't beingmatched by increased funding.

"If you compare us with the rest of Canada, there is a clear lack of resources," Prmont told CBC News.

She said that the justice department's budget is less than one per cent of the province's overall spending.

Prmont added that the number of judges hasn't increased proportionally with Quebec's population.

"It's clear that brings about long-term problems," she said.

• Justice system in northern Quebec "deficient", says Quebec Bar

Beyond a need for more resources,Prmontsaid changes are being made in the way lawyers handle cases to ensure the justice system doesn't get congested.

She said lawyers are being offered training to help them conduct mediation sessions and other kinds of conflict resolutions so some cases are resolved before ending up in court.

Prmontadded that there is now "zero tolerance" for lawyers abusingprocedure like filing motions repeatedlyto delay proceedings and increase lawyers' bills.