Several weeks after the Quebec government enacted back-to-work legislation that compelled striking Crown prosecutors and government lawyers, two Quebec Crown prosecutors have submitted their resignation, the beginning of what some fear may prove to a mass exodus.
Charles Levasseur, a crown prosecutor who handled many high-profile cases, notably the case dealing with former Quebec Court of Appeal judge Jacques Delisle accused of murdering his wife, is stepping down. He said that while other factors came into play, the labour conflict “probably” precipitated his decision to work for the law firm Thibault Roy Avocats. “The last conflict was difficult. It made me realize that the Crown will never be the same, and my motivation will never the same. That is the impact of the back-to-work legislation,” said Levasseur in an interview with a French-language legal website.
That is likely a sign of things to come, fears Gilles Ouimet, the head of the Barreau du Québec.