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What sort of cases are involved — petty stuff like traffic tickets?

A: Well, kind of. Administrators try to push more serious cases through to trial as soon as they can, says Eric Gottardi, spokesman for the criminal justice section of the Canadian Bar Association, but more and more serious cases involving deaths and sexual assaults are being tossed out. “It starts with the lower-end cases, but we’re starting to see more and more serious cases stayed, due to lack of resources,” he says.

Can you give me any examples?

A: Cory Sater, who faces several charges over the Feb. 19, 2011, deaths of Charlene Reaveley and Lorraine Cruz, could see his case thrown out because of delays. At present, he’s scheduled to stand trial next February. “It’s disgusting. It’s absolutely disgusting,” Dan Reaveley husband of one of the victims, told CBC.

How did it get this bad?

A: Mr. Lakshman says B.C. has seen this coming for some time. “It wasn’t overnight…. It was a gradual process over the last three years, and it was of no surprise to anyone,” he says. “Judges were retiring and not being replaced, and staff levels weren’t maintained.” Mr. Gottardi blames budget cuts. “The Crown’s budget has been slashed, the legal aid program has been severely underfunded; there just hasn’t been enough funding,” he says. “We need to be able to process [cases] and process them in a much quicker way.”

This is sounding worse by the minute. What is B.C. doing to fix this situation?

A: Nine new judges were appointed last week, with four being assigned to Greater Vancouver, two in Prince George, and one each in Penticton, Nanaimo and Smithers. Christy Clark, the B.C. Premier also announced a five-month review of the justice system to look at ways to increase efficiency. Mr. Gottardi said several possibilities were on the table. “The provincial government is looking for efficiency, and that’s a good place to start,” he says. “It’s a matter of getting more courtrooms open and being able to staff them, be it through night court, Saturday court or any number of options.”