We’re a grownup country or we aren’t, fix the courts

Legal experts have sounded the alarm over a provision in Bill C-16 and say if it were to pass into law as written, automatic stays of proceedings if trials took too long to complete would no longer be an option, or at least would only be an option of last resort.

Justice Minister Sean Fraser is responsible for Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY MATT GURNEY

April 6, 2026

TORONTO—We have clearly now arrived at the stage where our court system has become so dysfunctional that we are slapping Band-Aid solutions on top of Band-Aid solutions, and are expecting that to work.

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