The B.C. government recently introduced the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, which aims to overhaul traffic court.
On its face, the bill seems like a good thing: some traffic court disputes will be moved online.
Further, the bill creates an early resolution process, called a Resolution Conference, by which traffic court disputants may request a meeting to resolve their ticket.
…
Rather than having a justice preside over a resolution conference, the bill would allow the government to appoint representatives – similar to adjudicators. These representatives will not have the same type of judicial independence that a Judicial Justice has when sitting in traffic court. Similarly, instead of having the police officer attend, regulations can be crafted to allow a “prosecutor” (not necessarily a lawyer or a police officer) to attend on their behalf.
Read the full post here.