Quebec's criminal prosecutors and Crown attorneys are on strike.
Lawyers from across Canada joined their provincial counterparts for a noon-hour rally outside the Hilton Hotel in Quebec City, then dozens of them marched to the National Assembly.
In Montreal, a silent protest took place at 1:30 p.m. inside the Palais du Justice.
Michelle Courchesne, president of the Treasury Board, said she felt that lawyers were more interested in exercising their right to strike than they were in attempting to negotiate an agreement.
"I'm really concerned and I would really like them to come back to the table, because we have a very generous offer," said Courchesne, who admitted the government is willing to make concessions.
"They've been asking [for] more prosecutors - it's on the table. They're asking [for] more consideration for the number of hours they're working, because they're working hard - it's on the table."
However Courchesne is not willing to budge when it comes to a requested pay hike.
Crown prosecutors say that at an average annual salary of $75,000, they are paid an average of 40 percent less than their counterparts in other provinces.
They also want the government to hire more prosecutors and researchers, pointing out that Quebec currently has 450 Crown prosecutors and only seven researchers, while Ontario has 800 attorneys and 500 researchers.
Overworked attorneys are more likely to leave, according to Prosecutor J.D. Gerols.
"We are losing our experienced attorneys who are going to the federal Crown, they're going to defence, they're taking early retirement" said Gerols.
"They're going to Alberta or Ontario, also, to take better paying jobs and their working conditions will be substantially better."
Only 50 of the province's 450 prosecutors will be reporting to work during the strike.
Trials that are currently taking place will continue, but laying charges for people arrested by police will likely face lengthy delays.
