CBABC is pleased to see the Legislature has not disputed the Judicial Compensation Commission’s 2022 Final Report released in April 2023, which means their recommendations that the BC government increase the salaries of BC Provincial Court judges and judicial justices over the next four years will be adopted. This also positively impacts Crown counsel whose salaries are tied to those of Provincial Court judges.
The JCC report reflects CBABC’s recommendations to the Judicial Compensation Commission in January 2023. We have long called for a significant increase to base salaries to be competitive with the pay in other provinces across the country. In BC, compensation for Provincial Court judges and judicial justices has been amongst the lowest of all courts in the country, higher only than Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador. Members of the judiciary have faced enormous challenges and increased compensation will help attract high-quality applicants.