Ontario鈥檚 notoriously low jury pay is finally being increased.听
Describing it as a 鈥渓ong-overdue reform,鈥 Attorney General Doug Downey announced late Thursday that people who aren鈥檛 still getting paid by their employer while serving on a jury will receive $120 a day starting on the first day of trial. The new measure takes effect Oct. 1.
Currently, jurors get nothing for the first 10 days of service, followed by $40 daily from days 11 to 49, and then $100 daily for day 50 and beyond 鈥 although trials of this length are rare.
鈥淚 know we can all agree juries play a vital role in our justice system, and I, for one, am very grateful when ordinary citizens from all walks of life answer the call and participate in the judicial process,鈥 Downey said in remarks delivered at the annual opening of the courts ceremony at Toronto鈥檚 criminal courthouse.听
鈥淏ut let鈥檚 face it: the current jury fee structure has not changed since 1989, another area of our justice system that has been neglected for decades.鈥
“Simply put: there are not enough judges to meet the demands of the number of cases in the system.”
“Simply put: there are not enough judges to meet the demands of the number of cases in the system.”
While Ontario law prohibits employers from dismissing employees who serve on juries, it does not require them to continue paying their salaries, leaving a patchwork system where some workers can serve on juries while still getting their paycheques, but others can鈥檛.
鈥淪o in some cases people are not receiving any compensation for fulfilling their civic duty all the while making personal and economic sacrifices,鈥 Downey told the gathering of judges and lawyers, including the province鈥檚 three chief justices.听
鈥淭his is changing now.鈥澨
Jury pay in Ontario had long been among the lowest in the country, but will now be near the top.听
to $80 a day, starting on the first day of service after previously compensating jurors $30 a day, starting on the 11th day. for jurors who don鈥檛 continue getting paid by their employers. Quebec pays $103 a day, and then $160 starting on the 57th day.
Only Newfoundland and Labrador requires employers to continue paying their workers while they sit on juries. Some provinces also provide allowances for travel, parking, and child care.
As the Star reported last year, lawyers and advocates had expressed concern that Ontario鈥檚 low jury pay was preventing too many people from serving on juries, as they would ask the courts to be excused for financial hardship.听
Ontario offers jurors among the lowest rates of pay in the country 鈥 nothing for the first 10 days of service, $40 daily from days 11 to 49听and
Ontario offers jurors among the lowest rates of pay in the country 鈥 nothing for the first 10 days of service, $40 daily from days 11 to 49听and
鈥淭he poor are, by nature of their poverty, rendered ineligible, especially on long trials,鈥 海角社区官网criminal defence lawyer Sid Freeman told the Star last year.听
And in an environment that can鈥檛 produce diverse juries 鈥 not just in racial background, but in socioeconomic background 鈥 she said, 鈥渢he people who are most often subject of the criminal justice system never get a jury of their peers 鈥 That鈥檚 a completely untenable way to run the justice system.鈥
Notwithstanding the provincial policy, a judge presiding over a jury trial still has the discretion to set their own amount for jury pay. For example, Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia ordered that jurors in the high-profile Hockey Canada sexual assault trial earlier this year be paid $150 daily for the duration of the trial. Although in the end, Carroccia had to dismiss not one but two juries and finish hearing the trial herself, acquitting all five players.听
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