In Quebec's north, criminal cases are being dropped because of a drastic lack of resources

Quebec's justice minister is blaming the Court of Quebec for procedural delays causing a slew of dropped criminal cases in Nunavik and Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

Quebec's justice minister is blaming the Court of Quebec for procedural delays causing a slew of dropped criminal cases in Nunavik and Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

On Thursday, Simon Jolin-Barrette reacted to a report in La Presse that 126 cases had been dropped in the two regions since March.

On the sidelines of a Coalition Avenir Quebec caucus retreat, Jolin-Barrette said he is not happy with the situation.

"My first thought is for the victims, I don't like it," he said.

Jolin-Barrette says he has worked to increase the number of judges and resources provided to the Quebec court and that 10 years ago there were 270 judges in the province. Now there are 319.

The justice minister said the co-ordinating judge overseeing the northern districts has cut the number of days set aside for hearings compared to the previous year and those who manage the tribunal should call for reinforcements from other regions to help colleagues in Abitibi-Temiscamingue and Nunavik.

The Crown prosecutors' office, the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP), confirmed the La Presse figures to Radio-Canada, specifying that among the 126 dropped files, 99 come from the itinerant court which travels around James Bay and Nunavik.

The remaining 27 cases concern the Val-d'Or, Amos and Ville-Marie courthouses.