Quebec criminal lawyers have welcomed a discreet directive issued without fanfare by the provincial Minister of Justice calling on Quebec’s Crown prosecutors to weigh public interest and the risk to public safety before prosecuting people suspected of simple drug possession for personal consumption.
The circumspect directive, followed up a day later by new guidelines issued by the Quebec Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DCPC), is widely expected to help alleviate the logjams currently plaguing the provincial court system, according to criminal lawyers.