Ontario is set to introduce legislation this week that would speed up judicial appointments, add more judges to the Ontario Court of Justice and create new prosecution teams.
The Progressive Conservative government says changes include a new pool-based recommendation process for judicial positions that would streamline appointments and require a committee to consider criteria set by the attorney general.
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The government also says it will also allocate 17 more judges to the province’s lower courts to keep up with a growing number of complex cases and backlog of criminal cases.
The province also says it would introduce a new cybercrime and cryptocurrency prosecution team.
Last year, Premier Doug Ford faced criticism for his government’s appointment of two former staffers to its judicial appointments committee, and he defended the move by saying the Progressive Conservatives were elected to appoint “like-minded people” as judges.
The province says the new legislation is part of its goal to get “tough on crime” and keep violent, repeat offenders behind bars.