Amanda Vaughan
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, December 5, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The NWT's three territorial court judges are asking for 12 per cent salary hike plus annual increases tied to the rise of the consumer price index.

Garth Malakoe, a lawyer representing judges Brian Bruser, Robert Gorin and Bernadette Schmaltz told an independent commission last week that territorial court judges are underpaid compared to some provincial counterparts.

Judges here make $209,255 a year.

" They should be the highest paid, or close to the highest paid territorial or provincial court judges in Canada," he said, adding that the territory had the highest cost of living in the country.

He used a chart displaying the current salaries of judges in other jurisdictions to point out that the NWT placed fourth in the country, with Ontario ($234,502), Alberta ($220,000), and Quebec ($218,000) coming in ahead. He also pointed out the that BC is about to elevate its provincial court judges' salaries to $220,000.

Malakoe also argued that territorial judges have the most arduous workload and difficult working conditions of any other jurisdiction in the country, referring to their high caseloads and the challenges of working the circuit in smaller communities.

Darren Proctor and Brad Patzer, the two lawyers representing the territorial government which pays the judges' salaries, said that the salaries should not rise beyond annual increases to the inflation driven Consumer price index, which rose 1.9 per cent between October 2006 and October 2007.

They said the commission needs to take into consideration the government's fiscal situation. Patzer said that despite the continued growth of the NWT economy, the GNWT does not have a similarly increasing revenue.

He said despite working conditions in the NWT court system, the Department of Justice did not have a problem attracting and retaining qualified judges. He also said he felt that the cost of living in the North was no greater than that of urban centres in Canada such as Toronto Montreal and Vancouver.

The Judicial Remuneration Commission reviews the compensation judges receive every four years as per the Territorial Court Act of the Northwest Territories. In the NWT, the wage recommendations of the commission are legally binding.

" They are not reviewable by the legislative assembly," said Don Sian, chair of three-member commission.

Also on the committee is businessman Dave McPherson and accountant Dan McKinley.

The panel has until April 1, 2008 to put together their salary recommendations.