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EDITORIAL: Justice is fundamental

The province’s court system is in dire straits.

As today’s stories in The News illustrate, the province’s court system is in dire straits.

There are immensely long delays between the laying of charges and actual trials – up to 18 months or longer in some jurisdictions such as Surrey.

At present, there are in excess of 2,000 criminal cases stuck in the system for so long they are in jeopardy of never being heard at all.

Those delays are causing judges to throw out cases because the accused’s constitutional rights to a timely trial have been violated.

At the very least, when Crown prosecutors see there are more cases to be heard than there is available court time, they are more inclined to consider plea bargaining.

While Abbotsford’s provincial court is seeing somewhat shorter waits – an average of about 12 months – the facility is antiquated and unable to provide the level of security required for some prisoners.

That means those cases must be transferred to a more secure facility, such as Surrey – which has one of the most crowded waiting lists in the province.

Clearly, this situation cannot continue to languish on the provincial government’s priority list, as it has for years.

Abbotsford has required new court facilities for more than a decade. And even if a new justice centre was to be provided, it would need the judges and Crown prosecutors and other staff to operate.

There is no doubt that Victoria is focused on the funding juggernauts of health and education.

Yet, a functioning court system that delivers speedy and proper justice to those who commit crime, and their victims, must be seen as an absolute fundamental element in a functioning society.