The strike by Crown prosecutors and government lawyers in Quebec could essentially shut down the province’s court system and affect the introduction of legislation at the National Assembly.
A team of 50 Crown prosecutors will remain on the job, as will some government lawyers, but the majority of Quebec’s nearly 1,500 public lawyers are now on strike, with picket lines and demonstrations expected today in Montreal and Quebec City.
The prosecutors’ union is demanding that the Quebec government bring salaries in line with the national average, which it says would mean a raise of 35 to 40 percent. The union is also calling on the government to hire 200 more lawyers.
This is the latest development in a long stretch of negotiations and public sparring between the union and the Charest government.
Is this strike the right course of action for Quebec’s Crown prosecutors and government lawyers? Take our latest poll, to the right of this post, and let us know what you think.