By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Source: TBnewswatch.com
The appointment of another judge who will at least partially preside over the Rainy River District will further help access to justice in the region.
That’s according to Douglas Judson, the president of the Rainy River Law Association. Ontario Chief Justice Sharon Nicklas recently appointed Archana Arun Medhekar as a judge for the Ontario Court of Justice, and assigned her to the bench in Fort Frances and Kenora.
“The law association is always really pleased when we see the government and the court recognize the need for new and expanded judicial resources serving the Rainy River District,” Judson said.
“It’s certainly a recognition that Fort Frances is a stand-alone court with its own capacity that requires judicial hands on deck to manage.”
Until Justice Terry Waltenbury was called to the bench in Fort Frances in 2023, the Rainy River District had been without a locally-sitting judge for 11 years. Waltenbury presides in the Rainy River District full time, Judson said.
The Ontario Court of Justice, or provincial court, handles most criminal and family law matters in the province; a media release issued by the Rainy River Law Association called it “Ontario’s busiest court.”
Judson said it’s yet to be announced where Medhekar’s chambers will be based or where her swearing-in ceremony will be.
While the court system has made much wider use of technology since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (Judson pointed to the use of courts now sitting remotely and electronic filing of documents), it’s still important to have cases heard by someone physically in the area, he said.
“It’s still important to have justice administered by people who live in your community, who are aware of the circumstances of the community, have a sense of its geography and its history, and frankly, who have relationships with people in the community and understand the social context in which matters come before the court,” Judson said.
“That’s part of why having people that are prosecutors and judges and other actors in the justice system reside in your community and administer justice with that understanding is so important.”
Ensuring there are enough judges to hear cases in the Northwest outside of Thunder Bay is part of that access to justice, Judson said.
“This is a good news story, I think, for the ability of the court to provide better access to justice for people, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle,” he said, adding that ensuring courthouses have enough court services and other support staff is also crucial.
“Courthouse staffing has been an ongoing challenge in much of the province, including in the Northwest, and I think that that is improving,” he said. “Ensuring that the court has a sufficient staff complement to allow matters to be heard and filings to be processed … that remains a really important priority if we’re going to truly facilitate timely access to justice.”
Having enough lawyers in a given region is also important, Judson said, adding that “there’s a bottomless pit of work to do for lawyers in the Kenora and Rainy River districts.”
He said his firm currently has five lawyers and “I feel like I would be in a position to hire another five tomorrow if I had people with the appropriate skills that approached us.”
(File photo)
