2. Judicial Resources – Division 29

Qs & As

Part 4 – Division 29
Judges Act Amendments (Judicial Resources)

Q. What do these amendments do?

These amendments create authority to appoint additional superior court judges to respond to demonstrated and projected workload pressures and delays.

Q. How will these new 17 judicial positions be reallocated?

The reallocation relies on the objective data submitted through the standardized annual process under which provinces and territories are invited to submit requests for increases in the size of their courts.

Q. Why don’t the amendments specify which courts will be getting these 17 judicial positions?

Authorizing these salaries in a pool position allows for flexibility and responsiveness in allocating the new judicial resources across courts to respond to their demonstrated need. Positions for unified family courts are also authorized under a pool provision; this pool provision (section 24(3)(b) of the Judges Act) is broader in that judges can be appointed to superior trial courts, which have broad jurisdiction and hear criminal, civil, and family law matters.

Q. What is the cost of these 17 judicial positions?

Budget 2024 announced $50.2 million over 5 years, starting in 2024-2025, and $10.9 million ongoing.

The funding for these positions was originally authorized in Budget 2018 for the expansion of unified family courts. However, since 17 of the salaries authorized in Budget 2018 have not yet been used, the funding will be reprofiled to be used in any provincial superior trial court.

The associated costs are for judicial salary and benefits, which are paid under the Judges Act as a statutory draw from the Consolidated Revenue Fund; however, no costs are incurred until a judicial appointment is made. Provincial governments are responsible for court administration costs for provincial superior courts.

The current annual salary for a puisne judge is $396,700. Judicial salaries are indexed to the Industrial Aggregate Index (IAI).

Q. Why are these positions being taken out of the unified family courts?

Budget 2018 authorized funding for 39 new judicial salaries to support the expansion of unified family courts across Canada. Four provinces participated in this initiative, and expansion has subsequently occurred in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ontario. However, Alberta has indicated that it will not be proceeding with unified family courts implementation. Rather than allowing those positions to remain unused indefinitely, Budget 2024 allows the government to respond immediately to demonstrated need in other courts by redistributing the 17 positions notionally allocated to Alberta’s unified family courts.

Q. Why are new positions being given only to a few courts?

The resources included in Budget 2024 respond to demonstrated need in various courts. Multiple factors impact court operations, such as volume and complexity of incoming cases, court procedures, and availability of courtrooms and technology. For those courts that experience sustained pressures, there will be opportunities to support future requests for additions to their judicial complement.

Q. How many judges are there? How many of them are women?

As of April 1, 2024, there were 1190 (including supernumerary judges) federally-appointed judges in office. Of those, 46.22 percent (550 of the 1190) were women.

Overview

Part 4 – Division 29
Judges Act Amendments (Judicial Resources)

Division 29 of Part 4 amends the Judges Act to repurpose 17 previously approved unified family court positions to trial pool positions. This means that it would decrease the number of judicial salaries that may be paid under paragraph 24(4) of the Judges Act from 75 to 58 but would increase the number of judicial salaries that may be paid under paragraph 24(3)(b) from 62 to 79. These legislative amendments will come into force on Royal Assent.

These judicial positions will respond to existing and projected workload pressures and assist the courts in dealing with their caseloads in a timely manner.

Key Messages

Part 4 – Division 29
Judges Act Amendments (Judicial Resources)

Clause-by-Clause

Part 4 – Division 29
Judges Act Amendments (Judicial Resources)

Clause 320(1)

This clause amends paragraph 24(3)(b) of the Judges Act to increase the number of judicial salaries that may be paid under this paragraph from 62 to 79.

Clause 320(2)

This clause amends paragraph 24(4) of the Judges Act to decrease the number of judicial salaries that may be paid under this paragraph from 75 to 58.