A 36-month Charlottetown Municipal Justice Pilot.
The proposal asks Prince Edward Island to create a clear pathway for independent judicial justices of the peace to hear an appropriate range of municipal offences in a regular, predictable docket. Charlottetown would prosecute. The Province and judiciary would retain control of judicial appointments, assignments and decisions.
City prosecutes
An in-house City Prosecutor prepares municipal cases, improves bylaw drafting and sets prosecution-ready file standards.
Province appoints
Judicial justices of the peace remain provincially appointed and under the independent judicial system.
Independent justice decides
Council, the mayor, administration, police and the municipal prosecutor have no authority to direct the outcome of a case.
What the pilot would test.
Daytime and evening sittings
Make the process accessible and create predictable municipal hearing dates.
Faster first appearances
Reduce the gap between valid enforcement action and a hearing or disposition.
12 / 24 / 36 month gates
Measure speed, fairness, compliance, repeat complaints, repeat offending and cost before deciding whether to continue.
Published aggregate results
Report docket wait times, dispositions, compliance and accessibility without publishing personal case information.
Not a City-controlled court.
Criminal Code offences such as theft, break-and-enter and possession of stolen property remain criminal matters for police and the provincial Crown. Local Justice deals with valid municipal offences only.
The safeguards stay.
Normal disclosure, procedural fairness, Charter protections and appeal rights remain in place. There is no municipal appointment of the adjudicator and no politically directed sentence.
Municipal Offences Justice of the Peace Jurisdiction
Read the full proposal filed with the Province, including the legislative changes requested, pilot design and safeguards for judicial independence.
Download the PDF →Thursday, September 10 - 7:00 p.m.
Murphy Community Centre. Ask how the municipal-justice pilot would work and what it would - and would not - change.
Town hall details →