To ease caseload pressures, the province has appointed nine new provincial court judges in various regions around B.C., including Penticton.
Attorney General Shirley Bond, who was at the Ramada Inn Penticton with Premier Christy Clark when the announcement was made Tuesday, said the move is just one solution to ease pressures on the justice system.
New Judge Gregory Koturbash will serve in Penticton, effective Feb. 14.
Koturbash began his law career working as a prosecutor in Saskatchewan. Since 2005, he has been administrative Crown counsel in Salmon Arm. He recently released a legal guide to assist police and prosecutors with impaired driving investigations.
Bond noted the newest appointees are only part of a solution for a justice system in need of reform.
"In the coming days, we'll be looking very closely at larger reform of the system and specifically how we can find efficiencies and long-term solutions to the pressures our courts are facing instead of just looking at more funding as the only answer," she said. "We will continue to work with the judiciary, the legal profession and others in the system to come up with common-sense ideas to help us do this."
It has not been confirmed if Koturbash will be replacing Judge Gale Sinclair, who recently said he will be retiring at the end of March.
Clark said appointing the judges complements Monday's announcement that a new correctional facility will be built near Oliver along with further news about justice reform coming today.
"People in this region really are concerned about their sense of safety," said Clark. "They're concerned to know that the justice system is working for victims and for citizens. We have to pay real attention to that."
She noted the government did not delay decisions on the new prison location so it could roll out both announcements at the same time, but rather due to the province's financial situation.
"We found a way to make this fit within our fiscal plan so that we could still balance our budget," said Clark.
The Liberals appointed judges in specific communities in response to court needs throughout the province, taking into account such matters as caseload demands, recent transfers within the court, retirements or judges choosing to move to the part-time program.
One new judge has been appointed to Nanaimo and to Smithers, and four new judges will be appointed to the Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley regions, plus another two in Prince George.
The cost of one provincial court judge is up to $1.4 million annually, including the judge's salary and other costs for court administration staff, sheriffs, prosecution services and judicial support.