Concerns that B.C. court delays are creating 'injustice system'

More than a decade passed between the day Peter Kevin Miller was first accused of running a Ponzi scheme and his last appearance in Vancouver provincial court.

Police investigated him doggedly for years.

The United Kingdom extradited him to face justice in British Columbia.

But as Edward Hebditch — one of Miller's 13 alleged victims — sees things, it was the ineptitude of the B.C. justice system that ultimately set the 75-year-old accused fraudster free without trial, with all 26 charges against him stayed in 2023 because of court delays.

"We have a justice system for the perpetrators, but we have an injustice system for the victims," Hebditch told CBC News.

"We are not accounted for at all. We are not cared about. We are not consulted — nothing."

'An important issue'

Nearly two dozen provincial court cases — including Miller's — ended in judicial stays of proceedings in the past year-and-a-half, following applications from accused criminals claiming they had a right to be tried within an 18-month window mandated by Canada's top court.

The cases that have been stayed include those against a Victoria man alleged to have sexually assaulted a six-year-old girl, and a Prince George man who allegedly filmed his stepdaughter to make child pornography.

A woman charged in a large-scale immigration fraud walked free despite a previous guilty verdict; at least three sexual assault victims were denied a chance to seek justice; and the people of Saanich, B.C., lost an opportunity to put an accused cocaine dealer behind bars.

Court delays may not be top of mind for the politicians currently vying to lead the province, but Trial Lawyers Association of B.C. vice-president Rebecca McConchie says voters should know where the leaders stand on the problem.

"It's an important issue for the parties to address because law and order is a favourite topic of every party in every election, and we hear much discussion about enforcing the law or making laws stricter, increasing policing, increasing punishment to address reasonable community fears about crime," she says.

"But you can't have that discussion without having a discussion about treating the people within that system fairly."

McConchie blames a lack of courtrooms and a lack of judges for the delays. She'd also like to see innovative proposals from the parties to divert complex legal battles away from the courts.

Where the parties stand

While the B.C. NDP and the B.C. Conservatives did not provide CBC News with specific proposals on how to address the delays, the parties' leaders have spoken about delay in recent months when the issue arose in relation to a case involving the alleged sexual assault of a child.

An NDP spokesperson pointed to comments in July from leader David Eby — a lawyer himself.

"One case dismissed because of delay is too many," Eby said.

"And we'll do all we can to ensure that every trial gets to court in a timely way to minimize this risk."

The NDP announced plans to recruit up to 40 Crown prosecutors this year to target repeat violent offenders, as well as measures to recruit, retain and train sheriffs — a key part of the justice system whose dwindling numbers have occasionally left courtrooms unable to function.

A new class of sheriffs is set to graduate three days after the election.

The Conservatives seized on the child sexual assault case in July — but where Eby claimed stays are an anomaly, John Rustad said they were a sign of a greater problem.

"It is unacceptable that a child's quest for justice is thwarted by bureaucratic delays and a lack of resources," Rustad said.

"The Conservative Party of British Columbia calls for urgent measures to address the resource shortages in the provincial court system."

The B.C. Green Party says it would work to ensure the judicial system is adequately resourced, improving pay and benefits for staff, while boosting legal aid resources for those who need it.

"We will work with the Attorney General's office and the public service to hire more professionals that are fundamental to the functioning of our justice system, including judges, court sheriffs, and Crown prosecutors. These jobs must be attractive," the party said in a statement.

"The legal system is complex, and very difficult to navigate alone or with insufficient counsel ... The B.C. Greens are committed to increasing resources for legal aid — lack of funds should not be a barrier to accessing legal services."

Alleged Ponzi scheme

According to court records obtained by CBC News, Miller — also known as Kevin Ireland — was accused of convincing fellow members of a Point Grey soccer club to trust him to invest their money.

He allegedly delivered monthly returns of at least three per cent to more than a dozen people, but was accused of using money from new investors to pay dividends to old ones, while mingling everyone's funds with his own money.

Miller — who had no criminal record — denied any wrongdoing, arguing that he also lost his savings, never evaded authorities and was in poor health at the time of his arrest in a small village in northern England.

The judge overseeing the proceedings found Miller lacked credibility, saying nothing he said in court "can have a gram of evidentiary value." 

But she agreed the Crown had dragged its heels, taking more than a year after charges were laid to seek the pensioner's extradition from the U.K.

By the time Miller finally found himself in a Vancouver courtroom, the window set out in the Supreme Court of Canada's so-called Jordan decision — 18 months in provincial court and 30 months in superior courts — had almost run out.

"All of the complainants have been waiting a very long time for this matter to come to trial," Judge Ellen Gordon said as she stayed the charges against Miller. 

"Were the complainants all this court had to consider, a stay of proceedings would absolutely be rejected. No court wants to see individuals feel as if they haven't been treated justly.

"However, it is the accused who is before the court and it is the accused to whom the constitutional guaranty of trial within a reasonable time applies."

Call for virtual courtrooms

Lee Nevens, president of the B.C. branch of the Canadian Bar Association, agrees B.C. needs more judges and would also like to see an increase in support for legal aid — as unrepresented litigants can gum up both the civil and criminal courts.

Nevens wants the provincial government to fully fund a digital transformation strategy which would establish "virtual" courtrooms so judges can oversee trials from anywhere in the province.

"It would save time and money by reducing the need to travel," Nevens says. "And there are a lot of fairly routine and short matters in civil and family law and pre-trial hearings that could be heard that way and save time and money."

Hebditch has nothing but praise for the Vancouver police officers who investigated Miller and the English authorities who oversaw his extradition. But he says he was left in the dark about Canadian court proceedings.

He thinks judges are out of touch with the public and believes they should be elected — not appointed — in order to keep them accountable.

McConchie and Nevens both say it's hard to see room for partisan politics in the proper administration of the justice system.

Hebditch says he just wants to see common sense.

"Either don't have this system at all and give the taxpayer back their money because nothing's happening with it," he says.

"Or actually ... get the right people in here and make this thing work. Otherwise, it's just a joke. To me, that's all it is now — it's a joke."