Justice minister announces working group to tackle Provincial Courts issues

Helen Conway Ottenheimer speaks to the media. Kyle Brookings/Newfound News.

The Minister responsible for Justice and Public Safety, Helen Conway Ottenheimer, provided an update to reporters this afternoon on the issues that are being experienced in the Provincial Court.

Staffing and Sheriff shortages are the primary concerns.

On Monday, the minister met with the Chief and Associate Justices to speak about the concerns.

A new working group will be established that will consist of Chief Judge Robin Fowler, one other active or retired Provincial Court Judge, two Members of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador private bar, Deputy Minister of Justice and Public Safety Gerrie Smith, and other senior department officials.

The working group will meet before and after the holidays and brief the Minister on actions necessary to address them by mid-February.

Conway Ottenheimer said that there is "nothing broken here that can't be fixed."

NAPE responds

NAPE released a statement expressing outrage over Ottenheimer’s response to the recent provincial court closures. It states that recruitment and retention problems in the court system are not new; frontline workers have been raising the alarm for years.

It added that "this isn’t leadership, it’s political theatre."