By Shirley Bond
Justice Minister and Attorney General
March 6, 2013

VICTORIA - When travelling long distances, it's necessary to turn around to see how far we've come.

With this in mind, let's look at what's changed in our justice system since government issued a green paper a year ago on the challenges facing B.C.'s justice system - challenges that many other jurisdictions are struggling with as well.

I'm proud to say that we're well on our way to meeting 10 justice reform targets set out in October in the first of a two-part action plan for achieving sustainable reform. White Paper: Part One, A Modern Transparent Justice System responded to Geoffrey Cowper's independent review of the justice system. The plan focused on Mr. Cowper's recommendations for new ways to collaborate with our partners in the justice system. This type of collaboration will be critical to dealing with the reality that, despite a declining crime rate and $1 billion in annual funding, our justice system is not providing many of the outcomes that British Columbians expect.

What specifically have we done?

We recently appointed nine additional Provincial Court judges to help address caseload pressure. We also signed an agreement with the Office of the Chief Judge to work together on two court backlog reduction projects. Reducing backlog is vital to creating a system that provides timely justice.

New legislation introduced this session paves the way for a more transparent, timely and balanced justice system. The legislation would establish a new Justice and Public Safety Council to set the strategic direction for the justice and public safety sector. It includes amendments that will support increased efficiencies in judicial administration, including lengthening the term a chief judge may serve to seven years, and clarifying the administrative powers of this position. This will give the chief judge more time and authority to develop and carry out longer term initiatives.


Since we released our first white paper, we also received recommendations from the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry and results from public engagement on the B.C. Policing and Community Safety Plan. Our immediate response strives to honour the memory of the missing and murdered women in B.C. We appointed former lieutenant-governor Steven Point to chair an advisory committee that will ensure that community perspectives, such as those in Vancouver's downtown eastside, are kept at the forefront during the development of our ongoing response to commissioner Oppal's recommendations.

Under the Justice Transparency and Reform Act, the attorney general can draw on the wisdom of knowledgeable partners across the justice system to serve on advisory committees. We know we can benefit from their expertise.

We are establishing a new Justice and Public Safety Council, in consultation with participants across the justice system, to set the strategic direction for the justice and public safety sector. Justice Summits will provide important input into that strategic direction and focus on how the system is performing and how it can be improved. The first summit will be held this month.

When we started justice reform a year ago, we knew that the type of systemic changes we envisioned wouldn't be easy and wouldn't happen overnight. Looking back on our progress, it's clear we have certainly paved the way for a modernized justice system.

The second part of the white paper, released recently, sets out future commitments and continues to build on the important progress we've made over the past year toward modernizing and transforming B.C.'s justice system into one that is more timely, transparent and balanced.

Media Contact:

James Beresford
Government Communications and Public Engagement Ministry of Justice
250 356-6423
778 679-8646 (cell)