April 2025
Thank you for writing, and for providing us with the opportunity to speak to your association and share the Green Party of Canada’s platform. We appreciate your continued advocacy. Please find our response below.
Survey and Questionnaire Response Team
CBA Question
How would your government ensure stable and sufficient funding for courts to reduce backlogs, modernize court infrastructure, and improve access to justice?
Response
To ensure stable and sufficient funding for courts and reduce backlogs, the Green Party would start by appointing more judges and court staff. This is key to addressing delays and building public trust in the justice system.
We would also expand the use of non-court solutions for less serious offences. Too many cases in family law and minor criminal matters clog the courts. Shifting those out of the courtroom would free up resources for serious cases—such as intimate partner violence, organized crime, corporate wrongdoing, and terrorism—where timely justice is vital.
The Green Party will invest in modernizing court infrastructure across Canada. Digitization can help, but only if it enhances access to justice. We will monitor its impact carefully. Increased reliance on technology must not deepen inequality. Canadians without access to reliable internet or digital tools must not be left behind. Flexibility in how services are delivered will remain essential until equitable access is guaranteed.
This isn’t just about speeding things up. It’s about fairness, access, and making sure justice works for everyone.
CBA Question
What measures would your government take to ensure timely judicial appointments, including from diverse and underrepresented communities, to maintain public confidence in the judiciary?
Response
The Green Party would take several steps to ensure timely and diverse judicial appointments that reflect the full range of Canada’s population and maintain public confidence in the justice system.
We would support a more transparent, merit-based process to reduce political interference and ensure appointments are made without delay. This includes reviewing and improving how judicial vacancies are posted and filled to avoid long-term gaps that contribute to court backlogs.
We would work to increase representation from underrepresented communities. That means prioritizing appointments that reflect the diversity of Canada—including more Indigenous, Black, racialized, and bilingual judges. As part of our commitment to reconciliation, we support Indigenous-led justice initiatives and recognize the need for a judiciary that understands the experiences of marginalized communities.
We would also affirm Quebec’s role in judicial appointments by requiring that Supreme Court appointments from Quebec come from a list submitted by the province. This helps respect the unique character of Quebec’s legal tradition and ensures regional and linguistic diversity.
We believe a fair, responsive, and inclusive judiciary is essential for justice and democracy. These changes are about building trust and ensuring every Canadian can see themselves represented in the system.
CBA Question
What steps would your government take to strengthen legal aid and ensure that low-income Canadians receive meaningful access to justice, regardless of their financial circumstances?
Response
A fair justice system is one that provides all Canadians, regardless of income levels, equitable access to the legal system, including outcomes that are negotiated out of court as well as those obtained through litigation. In that regard, as Canadians, we have significant work ahead of us.
The Green Party will work with the provinces, territories, and stakeholders to ensure greater consistency in the provision of Legal Aid across jurisdictions. This is particularly important with respect to financial eligibility requirements, as these requirements vary widely across Canada. In general, current financial eligibility requirements result in far too many Canadians being disqualified from receiving Legal Aid, despite the fact that they cannot afford private lawyers. This needs to change.
Furthermore, we will re-examine Legal Aid merit requirements, particularly for criminal matters, so that more people receive Legal Aid based on financial need, and are not rejected simply because there is no likelihood of jail upon conviction.
The legal system, particularly the criminal justice system, is an institution of last resort: one that reacts when other systems have failed. The Green Party will invest more in institutions, processes, and supports, such as restorative justice, mental health supports, and social welfare, that will decrease involvement with the justice system and recidivism. This will free up more financial resources for Legal Aid.
Finally, we will collaborate with the provinces, territories, the Canadian Bar Association and provincial/territorial counterparts, Indigenous groups, family law and criminal law bar associations, and others to establish benchmarks and assess and improve meaningful access to justice.
CBA Question
How would your government invest in court technology and translation services to enhance efficiency and ensure that all Canadians, including those requiring services in their official language of choice, receive timely justice?
Response
The Green Party is committed to ensuring that all Canadians can access justice in their official language of choice. We would strengthen and modernize the Official Languages Act and implement it within the first year of Parliament. This includes guaranteeing bilingual federal government services—courts included—across all provinces and territories.
We recognize the importance of linguistic equality in the justice system and support Quebec’s call for federal courts to provide full services in French across Canada. This commitment extends to translation services and ensuring timely access to justice for all, including linguistic minorities.
While specific funding models for court technology aren’t detailed in current policy, we support investments that enhance access without creating new barriers. Technology must be used to improve efficiency while respecting digital rights and ensuring no one is left behind. Digitization should go hand-in-hand with expanded language services, not replace them.
CBA Question
What other measures would your government take to maintain and strengthen public confidence in our courts?
Response
The Green party would invest in public education about the legal system, and increase awareness about the significance of judicial independence, including the need to protect the judiciary from unfounded criticism by elected representatives, like those we have been seeing over the last decade.
Provide education on the criminal justice system in order to improve the public’s understanding of the standard of proof and its significance.
Develop more cohesive policing standards across the country. Work with the provinces to have more uniform standards for hiring and training of police officers, for use of force standards, and for collection of data on use of force, as well as race-based policing.
Invest in the legal system so that conflicts are resolved more quickly, particularly in family law and criminal law matters.
Invest in restorative justice processes – help victims feel more engaged in the justice system, help reduce recidivisms, and increase accountability.
