200 legal aid lawyers on strike, demand equal pay with Crown attorneys
There are no legal aid lawyers at work in Montreal, Laval, the Laurentians, Lanaudière, Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie Tuesday morning.
The lawyers, who are part of unions affiliated with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), are on a half-day strike.
They are expected to return to work at 1:30 p.m.
The unions represent about half of the 400 legal aid lawyers across the province.
They have set up picket lines in front of legal aid offices in their regions and, by lunchtime, are expected to converge on local courthouses to demonstrate.
The lawyers have been without a working contract since Dec. 31, 2019, and are protesting against the Treasury Board's refusal to maintain pay parity with Crown attorneys.
The previous collective agreement had agreed to this equality, so the lawyers say they don't understand this about-face by their employer.
An independent committee recommends salary conditions for Crown prosecutors, who obtained an increase of 10 per cent over four years.
Quebec has offered legal aid lawyers the same increase as public services -- six per cent over three years.
President of the Montreal and Laval legal aid lawyers' union, Justine Lambert-Boulianne, points out her members take on many cases the government considers high priority, such as youth rights, conjugal claims and sexual violence.
Lambert-Boulianne believes that the time has come for Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette to intervene as Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel has yet to be moved.
She argues legal aid lawyers plead "the same cases before the same courts and the same judges as Crown prosecutors."
The union argues LeBel and Jolin-Barrette, both lawyers, have already spoken out in favour of salary parity between legal aid lawyers and Crown attorneys in the past.
CSN union members voted unanimously in favour of a three-day strike mandate.
Since they are not subject to the Essential Services Act, cases that were scheduled to proceed Tuesday morning were suspended and postponed, for the most part, to the afternoon.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 24, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Tropical fish stolen from Beachburg, Ont. restaurant found and returned
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
U.S. FAA launches investigation into unauthorized personnel in cockpit of Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.