BarTalk August 2000
Volume 12, Number 4

Attorney General's ideas for a better justice system

Premier Ujjal Dosanjh selected Andrew Petter to succeed him as Attorney General, and the Attorney has been busy ever since. BarTalk requested an interview with the new Attorney General, and he kindly agreed to hold the interview in his Victoria office. In contrast to the rest of the Legislature, quietly operating in summer-break mode, the Attorney’s office was bustling with media, staff and various consultants in a steady stream of meetings and interviews. Clearly, the new Attorney feels he has work to do. In this first of a two-part series of excerpts from that interview, we ask Attorney General Petter to outline his views about his new job.

My first goal is to continue with some of the directions of my predecessor. I think we, as a government, have a good record of demonstrating a real commitment to get tough with crime and serious offences. I see some of the recent changes in the federal criminal code with respect to stalking and home invasions as evidence of my predecessor’s success in getting the federal government to take some of those offences more seriously.

At the same time, I think it’s important that we focus even more on the causes of crime and on ensuring that the legal system is truly a system of last resort. So in that respect, focussing resources and efforts on dealing with youth violence, for example, is a very high priority of mine. For example, we recently announced an expansion of a youth program called “Nights Alive” to include “Summers Alive”, giving kids opportunities, not only for recreation, but to actually get involved in developing anti-crime strategies of their own in combating violence in their communities. I think we have to do more of that. I also think we have to deal with some of the things that condition the use of violence in our society, like video games. I’ve called for a system of classification of video games, with that in mind.

We also need to build on some of the excellent work that has been done on restorative justice. When we have offenders who aren’t yet guilty of serious crime and a community response is more likely than jail to lead them into a more productive future, we need the resources there for restorative justice programs and some of the community-based initiatives that underlie that restorative justice policy.

So, being tough on crime, but being even tougher on the causes of crime is, for me, a guiding philosophy. Within that, I also have some specific areas of interest. For example, I think we can do a lot with technology to make the court system more efficient and more accessible. Telewarrants can now be used by the RCMP. Video-conferencing can enable witnesses to be present in court without having to travel huge distances, and enable prisoners to appear in court without having to be transported for miles, perhaps posing a danger to the community through that transportation. There is a range of technological opportunities that I would like to see move forward and, in partnership with the judiciary and with the CBA, implemented in a way that makes the judicial system more modern, more relevant, more accessible, and more effective in protecting the interests of the public.

A third area of priority is that of Human Rights; ensuring that government is protecting and respecting individual rights, particularly within the legal system. I personally have a huge concern about privacy rights. I think that technology can be very beneficial, but it can also pose a significant threat to individual liberty and that threat can come from both private and public sectors. The provincial government has done a lot to lead in this. Our privacy laws are the toughest in the country and, I think, are very effective, but I see increasing encroachments on privacy in the private sector. When I go into a supermarket now they want me to get some card that will supposedly give me a discount, but allows them to track my transactions. I get letters from my university’s alumni association, pitching me all sorts of products, and you can rarely walk down the street without a video surveillance camera tracking you. Those are serious encroachments on personal privacy and liberty that we need to address.

In terms of other human rights issues, I think the government can do more. We have taken some action to further protect same-sex couples from discrimination and to remove some of the legislative distinctions that can’t be justified anymore. We recently introduced a new adult guardianship regime, to help people ensure that their rights and interests are legally protected if they become incapacitated. And because we want to do that effectively, we listened when the CBA asked us for a transition period to allow for enduring powers of attorney to continue while the new system is being fine-tuned.

Another example of where the law and human rights really do intersect is around access to the courts and legal aid. I know there are considerable pressures in the legal aid system and I think what we need to do is work cooperatively, the Bar and the Legal Services Society to try to make the dollars that are there go as far as they can. I’ve announced a further allocation of money, $1.4 million, to deal with some of the pressures around duty counsel and arraignment court services. And I think we need to work harder to get the federal government to put in a fair share to this province for legal aid.

We’ve touched on a whole bunch of areas, but I would say the idea is to work toward having a society that tries to prevent crime before it occurs, that deals with the causes of crime, and that is tough on crime once it does occur…. a society which harnesses the tools of technology to try to produce a better and more effective justice system … a society in which human rights are reflected not only in governmental action, but in the private sector and in the way the courts and the legal system operates. If I can work on all of those, in partnership with my Ministry staff, the Bar, the judiciary and the community, I think I’ll be doing a great job.

This article was published in the August 2000 issue of BarTalk and is subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2005, all rights reserved.