News release

Crown Attorneys’ Labour Relations Act

Labour Relations

Legislation introduced today, Oct. 16, amends the process for Crown attorneys to negotiate terms and conditions of their employment by giving them the right to strike.

Negotiations are underway to replace the employment contract which expired March 31, 2019.

Government is offering a seven per cent increase in pay over four years. The Nova Scotia Crown Attorneys’ Association’s proposal includes a 17 per cent increase over four years and other benefits that add up to $5.2 million annually. This is significantly higher than the wage pattern established in recently settled public sector agreements and far more than the government can afford.

The Crown Attorneys’ Labour Relations Act amends and overrides the current framework agreement, replacing arbitration with a right to strike to resolve interest disputes, like other lawyers who work in government. The legislation requires a plan to maintain a level of essential services during a strike that will protect public safety and the legal right of Nova Scotians charged with an offence and victims and survivors of crime to a timely trial. It also sets out a process and timeline for job action and imposes fines for an illegal strike.

“We value our Crown attorneys and the critical work they do,” said Karen Casey, Minister of Finance and Treasury Board. “However, this is a significant fiscal issue that should not be decided through arbitration. We have made difficult decisions over the past five years which have allowed us to make key investments in new health-care facilities, a pre-primary program and inclusive education supports, affordable housing, highway twinning, community colleges and other priorities. This step protects the sustainability of public services while respecting Crown attorneys’ right to a meaningful collective bargaining process.”

Quick Facts:

  • there are about 100 Crown attorneys with the Public Prosecution Service
  • the most senior Nova Scotia Crown attorneys currently make up to $149,149 annually, the highest in Atlantic Canada, which will increase to about $160,000 annually under the established wage pattern
  • the current Crown Attorneys framework agreement was entered into in 2012 and extended in 2016
  • interest arbitration is a process to resolve disputes in the collective bargaining process in which the disputing parties accept the terms of a deal decided by a neutral third party