Tuesday, November 2, 2010

More judges for the Nunavut

Nunavut has a single level court structure. There are no "provincial court" judges in the territory. And there are precious few "superior court" judges here. Presently Nunavut judges are facing a circuit (travel) one week out of three -- the current solution of part time judges from other provinces doesn't bring local justice to the people of the territory. Nunavut's citizens deserve judges who live among them and know what issues face them locally.

The easy, and obvious, short term solution is to appoint a few more judges -- there doesn't need to be that many, perhaps three or four immediate appointments.

In the longer term the creation of a territorial court (whether federal or territorial appointments doesn't matter) makes sense. Local judges who preside in, and live in, Cambridge Bay, Cape Dorset, Pond Inlet and circuit through the regions around. Perhaps that is a decade away but for now a few more judges are needed urgently.

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