‘Tip of the iceberg’: Impaired driving case collapses over chronic staff shortages at new Toronto courthouse

Many court staff “simply cannot afford to work downtown,” the union says.

By Jacques Gallant Courts and Justice Reporter

new toronto courthouse — “We can expect delayed justice for victims of crime and other serious criminal cases to be tossed if the government can’t immediately resolve the staffing issue,” said Daniel Brown, president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association.Andrew Francis Wallace / Toronto Star

An impaired driving case has become one of the first criminal matters to be tossed due to delay caused by the chronic lack of staff at the new Toronto courthouse, with one advocate warning the case is the “tip of the iceberg.”

In staying the charges, Ontario Court Justice David Porter delivered a blistering assessment of the current state of affairs at the $956-million courthouse on Armoury Street, which has been suffering from a lack of staff since it opened in March.

OPSEU/SEFPO, along with several other unions, spent years warning the Ministry of the Attorney General that closing courthouses in Scarborough, Etobicoke, and North York and consolidating justice services at the New Toronto Courthouse (NTC) in the downtown core would cause hardship for staff and access to justice issues for many marginalized people involved in the justice system who live far from Toronto’s downtown. The Ford government went ahead anyhow, and those predictions have come to fruition.