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Underfunding of Canada’s judicial system is causing trials to drag on past their legal limits, significantly boosting the number of unrepresented people and worsening mental and physical health of the country’s judges, says the country’s highest-ranking justice.
Chief Justice Richard Wagner highlighted the problems that he said are related to a lack of resources during his annual news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday.
In 2016, the Supreme Court established the Jordan framework by setting 18-month limits for criminal trials at provincial court and 30-month limits for proceedings at Superior Court.
In trials that go on beyond those time limits, charges can be thrown out because the delays violate Section 11(b) of the Charter guaranteeing Canadians are “tried within a reasonable time.”
An increasing number of cases being stayed across the country each year has prompted criticism and concern from some that the framework is undermining the justice system.
Wagner disagreed with that criticism.
“I still believe that Jordan is the right scheme,” Wagner said.
“It is unfair for a victim to wait for five years to testify in a criminal trial. It is unfair for the accused to wait for five years to have his trial, or her trial. It was unfair for everybody and for society.”
Wagner said that while “one stay of proceedings is one stay too many” the problem “at the beginning is resources” and governments across Canada “should find the means and the ways to make sure that criminal trials will proceed within a reasonable delay.”
Wagner said that governments have been increasing funding to the courts to ensure trials meet their time limits in recent years and that should continue.
“There is still a lot more to do but I think we are on the right path,” he said.
Litigants without representation
Wagner said that in 2025 about 37 per cent of applications to the top court for leave to appeal came from unrepresented litigants.
“Within the last few weeks and months, this number, this percentage has risen to 43 per cent,” Wagner said. “My feeling is that in 2026 this number will increase.”
He said this trend is also at the provincial level.
“I don’t think that a lack of specific resources and costs is the only explanation. I think it’s one major explanation,” he said.
As the Supreme Court of Canada prepares to adjourn for the summer, Chief Justice Richard Wagner said although he saw ‘resolve and a strong sense of engagement’ among Canadians who continue to believe in federal institutions, that trust ‘cannot be taken for granted.’ ‘We have seen attempts to undermine public confidence in the justice system,’ Wagner said.
Wagner said the top court does not want to dismiss cases landing on its doorstep without representation because even “they have the right to be considered,” but that comes with a cost.
Wagner says staff at the court have had to help people file the correct paperwork and navigate the appeals process, and all that costs the court time and money.
To address the issue, Wagner said courts need more funding, lawyers need to help fill that gap by doing more pro bono work and there needs to be an overall improvement in legal guidance and education available to the public.
Judges’ health concerns
The Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) is currently finalizing a study on the health and well-being of judges and that report, Wagner said, will be released shortly.
Wagner said that “knowing very well that our judges, whether it be provincial or federal judges, are under stress because of a lack of judicial resources” he does not expect many surprises.
He said the study’s 66 per cent response rate from judges is “a record percentage” showing that the issue is important to those on the bench.
Wagner said that despite the funding concerns, he was feeling optimistic about the trust Canadians have in institutions like the Supreme Court.
“That trust cannot be taken for granted,” he said. “As in many other jurisdictions around the world, here too we have seen attempts to undermine public confidence in the justice system.”
While there have been numerous examples of premiers in Canada criticizing court decisions in recent years, Wagner said he would not provide examples about who had or had not attempted to undermine confidence in the legal system.
