The Court of King's Bench for Saskatchewan (Court of Queen's Bench for Saskatchewan during the reign of female monarchs) is the
superior trial court for the
Canadian province
Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...
of
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
.
Structure and organization
The Court consists of 29 full-time
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
s and 10
supernumerary judges, all appointed and paid by the
federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
. The court's Chief Justice, currently the Honourable
Martel D. Popescul, is styled the Chief Justice of the King's Bench. Both the Chief Justice and puisne justices are addressed as "My Lord" or "My Lady" and referred to as "His Lordship" or "Her Ladyship". This differs from the terminology used in the
Provincial Court of Saskatchewan
The Provincial Court of Saskatchewan is the provincial court of record for the province of Saskatchewan. It hears matters relating to criminal law, youth law, civil law, family law, traffic law and municipal bylaws.
Jurisdiction
The Provincia ...
, whose judges are "Your Honour", "His Honour" or "Her Honour".
The Court sits in nine judicial centres and actions are generally brought in the judicial centre closest to where the action arose, or the residence or place of business of the defendant.
Jurisdiction
The Court hears
civil
Civil may refer to:
*Civic virtue, or civility
*Civil action, or lawsuit
* Civil affairs
*Civil and political rights
*Civil disobedience
*Civil engineering
*Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism
*Civilian, someone not a membe ...
and
criminal law
Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...
cases. It is a court of
inherent jurisdiction
Inherent jurisdiction is a doctrine of the English common law that a superior court has the jurisdiction to hear any matter that comes before it, unless a statute or rule limits that authority or grants exclusive jurisdiction to some other cou ...
and there is no monetary limit on the claims which it may hear. It also has original jurisdiction over matters assigned to it by statute, such as adjudicating human rights complaints.
The court has a Family Law Division, which has exclusive jurisdiction over family law matters in the judicial centres of
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
,
Regina, and
Prince Albert, and concurrent jurisdiction (with the Provincial Court) over family law matters in all other areas of the province.
As a superior court of original jurisdiction, it has supervisory jurisdiction over administrative tribunals, exercised by the
prerogative writ
A prerogative writ is a historic term for a writ (official order) that directs the behavior of another arm of government, such as an agency, official, or other court. It was originally available only to the Crown under English law, and reflected ...
s. It also has some appellate jurisdiction, hearing appeals from the
Provincial Court of Saskatchewan
The Provincial Court of Saskatchewan is the provincial court of record for the province of Saskatchewan. It hears matters relating to criminal law, youth law, civil law, family law, traffic law and municipal bylaws.
Jurisdiction
The Provincia ...
and some administrative bodies. Appeals may be taken from the King's Bench to the
Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan
The Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan (SKCA) is a Canadian appellate court.
Jurisdiction and structure
The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal is the highest court in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. There are 8 official judicial positions, incl ...
. A further appeal lies to the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
.
History
![RPL-B-510](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/RPL-B-510.jpg)
Until it became a province in 1905, Saskatchewan was part of the
North-West Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
as it existed
at that time and its judicial system was that of the territory. In fact, it was not until 1907 – two years after Saskatchewan became a province – that the new province's judicial system was established. The initial court structure of 1907 consisted of three courts: the Supreme Court of Saskatchewan, the District Court (similar to the County Courts of other provinces) and the Surrogate Court. There was no appeal court; rather, appeals were conducted by the
full court
A full court (less formally, full bench) is a court of law sitting with a greater than normal number of judges. For a court which is usually presided over by one judge, a full court has three or more judges; for a court which, like many appellate ...
of the Supreme Court of Saskatchewan, consisting of all the judges of the Supreme Court, other than the judge who made the decision under appeal.
During the First World War, the province reorganized its courts. In 1915, the province passed legislation, ''The King's Bench Act'' and ''The Court of Appeal Act'', for the purpose of creating a new court structure. Those acts came into effect on March 1, 1918, resulting in the abolition of the Supreme Court of Saskatchewan and the creation of the trial-level Court of King's Bench and the Court of Appeal.
[Courts of Saskatchewan website Queen's Bench History.](_blank)
Retrieved 12 March 2012.
In 1981, Saskatchewan merged its District Court into the Court of Queen's Bench. As part of that process, the judicial centres of the District Court became the judicial centres of the Court of King's Bench.
Styling
''The Court of King's Bench Act'' foresaw the need to rename the Court in the event of a female monarch. The Act provides that, during the reign of a Queen, the Court is known as the Court of Queen's Bench for Saskatchewan. Should the monarchy be vested in a King, it will be known as the Court of King's Bench for Saskatchewan.
Courts of Saskatchewan
There are three main courts in Saskatchewan:
*
Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan
The Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan (SKCA) is a Canadian appellate court.
Jurisdiction and structure
The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal is the highest court in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. There are 8 official judicial positions, incl ...
appellate court
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
; highest court of Saskatchewan.
* Court of King's Bench for Saskatchewan
superior trial court of Saskatchewan with inherent and unlimited jurisdiction
*
Provincial Court of Saskatchewan
The Provincial Court of Saskatchewan is the provincial court of record for the province of Saskatchewan. It hears matters relating to criminal law, youth law, civil law, family law, traffic law and municipal bylaws.
Jurisdiction
The Provincia ...
–
court of first instance
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance w ...
; trial court with jurisdiction defined by statute
Notable cases
Attorney General of Canada v Merchant Law Group, 2015
In January 2015, the Attorney General of Canada, on behalf of the federal government launched a law suit against
Tony Merchant
Evatt Francis Anthony "Tony" Merchant, (born 1944) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and former politician. His law firm Merchant Law Group LLP, which he founded in 1986, is best known for representing former students of Indian residential s ...
's Regina, Saskatchewan-based law firm—
Merchant Law Group
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...
(MLG).
[Attorney General of Canada v Merchant Law Group, 2016 SKQB 25]
July 16, 2015 IRSSA ruling by Justice Neil Gabrielson
Under then Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
, the Conservative government gave a mandate to officials from the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development—now known as the
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Development Canada—to "negotiate a settlement with the Catholic entities" who had committed in the
Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA; french: Convention de règlement relative aux pensionnats indiens, ) is an agreement between the government of Canada and approximately 86,000 Indigenous peoples in Canada who at some point ...
(IRSSA) to raise $25 million to pay for healing programs for survivors.
As a result, in August 2015, "negotiations began, resulting in a signed agreement on October 30, 2015, and a withdrawal of the Protective Notice of Appeal.
Justice Neil Gabrielson had ruled on July 16, 2015 that the federal Conservative government under then Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
had "inadvertently released 50 Catholic entities from their contractual responsibility to try to raise up to $25-million for aboriginal healing programs".
He said that lawyers on both sides—Alexander Gay representing the federal government and Gordon Kuski, representing the "Catholic entities" had a "meeting of the minds" on a "re-lease" of the Catholic entities from "all obligations". Justice Gabrielson ruled that Mr. Gay "should be presumed in this dispute to have had the authority to negotiate on behalf of the Canadian government".
A federal government official had confirmed there was "miscommunication with government lawyers that allowed the Catholic Church to escape paying close to $25-million", according to a May 19, 2016
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN, stylized aptn) is a Canadian specialty channel. Established in 1992 and maintained by governmental funding to broadcast in Canada's northern territories, APTN acquired a national broadcast lice ...
(APTN) article "Residential schools settlement agreement under fire".
Under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) fifty Catholic entities were under three obligations which included $29-million to the
Aboriginal Healing Foundation, $25-million through "services to aboriginal communities" and finally to use their "best efforts" to "raise $25-million for additional healing programs". By 2015, only $3.7 of the $25 million had been raised. In his July ruling, Justice Gabrielson said that "for a payment of $1.2-million, the Catholic entities were to be released from their responsibilities to raise the remainder of the $25-million, and be seen to have completed the other two categories of contributions."
The Catholic entitles had also claimed $29 million for administrative costs.
At the request of the ''Globe and Mail'' a
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
law professor, Eric Adams, and Ken Young, a residential school survivor and a Winnipeg lawyer, who read Justice Gabrielson's ruling said that the government under Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
should have appealed Gabrielson's ruling, as the stakes were so high.
Young said that it did not appear that Mr. Gay had agreed on behalf of the federal government to "allow the Catholic entities to walk away from their fundraising obligations." The decision served the federal government’s interests which explains why an appeal of the ruling was never sought. The Catholic entities under the IRSSA were allowed create a corporation that was to be used to make payment. The fifty Catholic entities were allowed to hide behind a secret agreement where the identity of the Catholic entities that made or failed to make a contribution to the corporation was to remain undisclosed. The victims received payment from the corporation without ever knowing the providence of the monies. The in-kind contributions as well as the monetary contributions were never fully paid. The federal government was content to allow Justice Gabrielson’s ruling to stand and bring an end to what was a bad deal for the victims.
In April 2016, then Indigenous Affairs Minister
Carolyn Bennett said that while the Liberal government under Prime Minister Trudeau would put pressure on the Catholic church to resume fundraising efforts towards to remainder of the $25 million, the federal government would not "make up the shortfall."
Crown vs Stanley (2018)
In the Crown vs Stanley, presided by Saskatchewan Chief Justice Popescul, an all-white jury
acquitted local
Battleford
Battleford ( 2011 population 4,065) is a small town located across the North Saskatchewan River from the City of North Battleford, in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Battleford and North Battleford are collectively referred to as "The Battlefords" b ...
,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
farmer Gerald Stanley on February 9, 2018. The jury found that the
death of Colten Boushie
Colten Boushie (October 31, 1993 – August 9, 2016) was a 22-year-old Indigenous man of the Cree people, Cree Red Pheasant First Nation who was fatally shot on a rural Saskatchewan farm by its owner, Gerald Stanley. Stanley stood trial for sec ...
, from the
Cree
The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...
Red Pheasant First Nation
The Red Pheasant Cree Nation ( cr, ᒥᑭᓯᐘᒌᕽ, mikisiwacîhk) is a Plains Cree First Nations band government in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The band's sole reserve, Red Pheasant 108, is south of North Battleford.
History ...
occurred because of "
hang fire
Hang fire refers to an unexpected delay between the triggering of a firearm and the ignition of the propellant. This failure was common in firearm actions that relied on open primer pans, due to the poor or inconsistent quality of the powder. M ...
".
Clint Wuttunee, Chief of the
Red Pheasant First Nation
The Red Pheasant Cree Nation ( cr, ᒥᑭᓯᐘᒌᕽ, mikisiwacîhk) is a Plains Cree First Nations band government in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The band's sole reserve, Red Pheasant 108, is south of North Battleford.
History ...
, called the verdict "absolutely perverse".
Following the announcement of the acquittal, rallies and vigils took place across Canada.
The rally at the Saskatoon court attracted 1,000 people who supported Boushie's family and were frustrated by the jury's decision.
At a press conference on February 11, hosted by
Saskatoon Tribal Council
The Saskatoon Tribal Council is a tribal council in the Treaty 6 Territory representing seven First Nation band governments in the province of Saskatchewan. Its head offices are located in the city of Saskatoon.
Demographics
The seven First N ...
, Mayor Clark described the event as a "defining moment for this community and this country".
References
External links
Saskatchewan Court of King's Bench website
{{Courts of Canada
Saskatchewan courts
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
1918 establishments in Canada
Courts and tribunals established in 1918