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Laurie in Question Period

Crown Prosecutors

Ms Blakeman: Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Justice, like many other employers in Alberta, is struggling to recruit and retain talented young professionals. Employees of Alberta’s Crown prosecutors’ office face low benefits as compared with lawyers employed elsewhere. A 2004 study done by the Law Society of Alberta revealed that young lawyers increasingly raised quality of life issues, such as better parental leave benefits, as a reason to seek employment elsewhere. My question is to the Attorney General. What is the minister doing to retain our Crown prosecutors?

The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

Ms Redford: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s a very good question. It’s such a good question, in fact, that our department addressed this very issue a year ago. We knew that there were problems with respect to terms of employment for Crown prosecutors. We knew that there were a lot of Crown prosecutors that needed to have more than just their jobs respected; they needed to be well compensated. We went through a period of over a year where we worked with Crown prosecutors, and we increased their wages. In fact, in our last round of hiring for 20 positions we had 100 people apply. We’re quite pleased with where our Crown prosecutors are, and so are they.

The Speaker: The hon. member.

Ms Blakeman: Thank you. Well, I have another area for you to look at. I’m wondering why this government makes our Crown prosecutors queue up for EI benefits at a loss of more than half of their normal take home pay when their federal counterparts are getting 93 per cent of their salaries for an entire year of parental leave? It’s about maternity benefits. What are you doing?

The Speaker: The hon. minister.

Ms Redford: Thank you. Yes, I understand the question was pointed towards maternity benefits. I think that if we look at the entire package the Crown prosecutors have, they are satisfied with where we are. We have a policy in place across the provincial government that deals with maternity and parental leave, not just maternity leave, and if there are ways that the government can improve that, then I’m sure that they’ll look at it. But this is part of an entire hiring policy, an employment standards policy for public servants in this government, and public servants are satisfied at the moment.

Ms Blakeman: To the same minister. We’re dealing here with lawyers who are dealing with a much different pay scale and benefit scale in the private sector, and if we’re trying to get good Crown prosecutors, which we want, we’re going to have to step up to the plate on maternity and parental leave benefits. Will the minister look at this as part of this review?

The Speaker: The hon. minister.

Ms Redford: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly hope that the hon. member opposite isn’t suggesting that our Crown prosecutors are any worse off or less qualified than lawyers in the private sector. We at the moment have a very aggressive hiring policy. We have strong Crown prosecutors. They are happy with their employment standards. They want to come and work for this government. They are seasoned lawyers, and they’ve made a choice to make a commitment to the public service. That’s a choice we can make in life. We’re very grateful that they have. They are well compensated, and they are happy.