(File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Seven staff positions lost

Lloydminster SK. provincial court to be converted to circuit court location

Jun 10, 2021 | 5:00 PM

The Lloydminster Saskatchewan Provincial Court at 4815- 50th St. will convert to a circuit court location effective September 1, which will ultimately result in the loss of seven Lloydminster court staff positions.

The Lloydminster circuit point will function similarly to the Court’s 61 other circuit points across the province that are served from permanent offices.

As part of the changes, judges, staff, and files will now be housed in North Battleford. Court parties will travel to hold court in the community on a regular basis. There is no change to the Lloydminster schedule or to its schedules for any of its circuit points.

In the process, the Lloydminster courtroom will continue to be used when the court sits there. The Lloydminster court office will be closed however.

The judge will drive from North Battleford to Lloydminster court, or to rural communities near Lloydminster, for scheduled court dates, similar to the way judges now travel from North Battleford to hold court in Biggar, Cut Knife, Spiritwood and Unity.

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“This particular change strengthens the court’s capacity in the area by centralizing judicial resources, which permits better sharing of workloads and streamlined scheduling, in turn improving the court’s ability to respond to community needs and decide cases in a timely manner,” Dawn Blaus, a spokesperson for the Saskatchewan’s courts, said in an email to battlefordsNOW.

According the the province, the Chief Judge of the Provincial Court reviews and assigns circuit points, based on court workloads and the need to ensure appropriate levels of service.

“The Chief Judge of the Provincial Court has decided, in consultation with the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General, to convert Lloydminster from a full-time court location into a circuit court location served by North Battleford,” said Noel Busse, a spokesperson from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General, in a statement to battlefordsNOW.

Court currently sits in Lloydminster two days per week. The Chief Judge indicated this schedule will remain unchanged at this time.

Nine staff members in the Lloydminster Court Office will be affected by the decision, Busse confirmed. From this number, two staff members will have the option to transfer to the North Battleford Court Office, three positions will be ended, and four term-positions will end early.

“We will support affected staff through this transition. Affected staff will also be able to access supports through the Employee and Family Assistance Program,” Busse said.

The Opposition NDP justice critic, Nicole Sarauer, expressed her concerns about the changes in a statement, and is asking the province to reverse their decision to establish Lloydminster as a circuit court site.

“This decision is highly disappointing, and will have very real consequences for the residents of Lloydminster and surrounding areas,” Sarauer said. “It will inevitably lead to greater waits and costs for residents of the area accessing the justice system.”

Sarauer also has issues with what she sees as a pattern of the centralization of rural services in Saskatchewan.

“We saw a similar decision a few years back in Weyburn, which resulted in reduced services and longer wait times for local residents. In no way does this decision improve access to justice in Saskatchewan,” she said.

The province’s decision will result in job losses for some employees, she said, and “likely force those accessing services to drive even further to North Battleford to resolve their issues.”

“Having spoken with those in the community, this decision was made with zero consultation with those living and working in Lloydminster and the surrounding area,” Sarauer said.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow