The Crown
The federal government has a unique role in the North. Unlike in the provinces where Criminal Code offences are prosecuted by the Attorney General of the province, Criminal Code offences in the territories are prosecuted by the Attorney General of Canada through the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC).
The PPSC Deskbook is the go-to reference book for the Crown as it outlines the Crown's procedures and protocols. Of particular relevance for our project is the "decision to prosecute test" found on page 57.
In this infographic, the linear spectrum shows that there is an increase in the rigorousness of what counts as evidence as you move from left to right.
Notice that the Crown is not squarely in the middle, but rather, closer to the right/judiciary in terms of the rigour of evidence that is required to pursue prosecution.
When the RCMP decide that they have gathered enough evidence to press charges, they press charges and then they pass the file along to the Crown. The RCMP then no longer have any contact with the file. That is, they cannot add things to the file after it has been submitted to the Crown.
The Crown has a file folder for every case. This file folder is separated into left and right where the left side of the file is everything that the RCMP has passed along to the Crown. The right hand side of the file contains everything that is collected by the Crown, including process documents like charge review forms, legal review, correspondence between the crown and defence etc.
Crown Witness Coordinator
The federal government has responsibility for Crown-based support to victims through the Crown Witness Coordinator Program.
Crown Witness Coordinators work closely with Crown prosecutors, victims, witnesses, and the community to provide a critical link between the criminal justice system and victims of crime. This small but essential support team for witnesses and victims of crime provide services to victims and witnesses in 63 communities throughout the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
