Quebec judge chided for court delays over camouflage pants
Judge Gilles Garneau refused to sit for three days in December, delaying 50 cases
Quebec's Crown is questioning a judge's refusal to sit for three days of hearings last month when he objected to how the special constables providing security in his courtroom were dressed, Radio-Canada has learned.
In a request filed with Quebec Superior Court, the Director of Penal and Criminal Prosecutions says Quebec Judge Court Gilles Garneau acted against the best interests of the justice system when he refused to sit for hearings scheduled Dec. 19, 20 and 21 because the constables were wearing brightly coloured camouflage pants.
The camouflage pants are a tactic that's meant to put pressure on the Quebec government as it negotiates a new contract with the special constables' union.
50 files affected
Garneau's refusal to sit affected hearings on 50 files and left court officials scrambling to reschedule them. Some of those hearings will now only take place in November 2017 — a delay of 11 months.
"The judge cited should have taken into consideration the witnesses present, the significant delays incurred, the inconvenience to all parties, [including] the victims and the justice system," the Crown's says in its request.
Unreasonable delay concerns
The Crown wants the hearings advanced in order to avoid the possibility of some cases being dismissed for unreasonable delays.
In the document, prosecutors Nicolas Abran and Daniel Royer said Garneau was unmoved by Crown concerns related to last year's Jordan decision by the Supreme Court of Canada, which set out fixed time frames for completing trials.
"No, there is decorum, there are rules and they will be respected, Jordan or not," Garneau replied, according to the document.
Garneau is not the first judge to refuse to sit over the special constables' pant protest. Similar refusals have taken place going back to 2015.
Montreal police have been using the camouflage pant tactic for more than two years in protest over pension reforms.
With files from Radio-Canada's Geneviève Garon