Jury duty in Canada: Viral post about $20 per day pay for jury duty in B.C. shocks Canadians
Experts who spoke to Yahoo Canada said not enough is being done across provinces and territories to better support jurors, from pay to post-trial mental health
A resident of British Columbia took to Reddit to express their shock at the paltry jury duty financial compensation offered to jurors in the province. "Who the heck can afford to take time off of work and get paid $20 a day," user Adept-Cockroach69 asked after being called to serve on a jury.
Many users in the thread’s 370 comments pointed out that some employers will continue to pay an employee’s salary while they’re on jury duty, but those who work part-time or are self-employed often can’t afford to take part. In turn, the pay policy could mean a jury only represents a specific demographic: Those who can afford to be there.
The original poster on the Reddit thread later updated their entry to say they "don't want to get out of" jury duty, but they "shouldn't have to starve to do it."
Several law experts who spoke to Yahoo Canada agree that more has to be done when it comes to compensating and advocating for jurors, in order to encourage eligible Canadians to exercise their civic duty without financial repercussions.
There’s a long way to go before the process is more inclusive and realistic about the potential jurors that end up being excluded by the process and the inadequate compensation for service.
Low pay is 'real deterrent' for potential jurors: lawyer
Lawrence Greenspon, an Ottawa-based criminal defence lawyer, says a “real deterrent” faced by potential jurors is the typical low pay given to them for their time serving in the jury box.
Most provinces don’t require employers to continue to pay an employee while they’re serving on a jury, though some jobs — unionized and full-time salaried — will pay their employees while they serve.
In most provinces and territories, jurors are given a daily stipend, which usually amounts to less than minimum-wage, though it varies throughout the country. Ontario is considered to have the lowest compensation, where jurors aren’t paid for the first 10 days of the trial, followed by $40 a day for days 11 to 49, then $100 per day if the trial exceeds 50 days.
“It’s not realistic,” Greenspon tells Yahoo Canada. “It's a woefully inadequate ... per diem" rate.
In contrast Saskatchewan, which is considered to have the best jury compensation in the country, pays jurors $110 per day or part day for a criminal or civil trial. The province also reimburses some travel expenses, meals and dependent care.
Greenspon explains that potential jurors will often be dismissed if they prove they can’t afford to be there, due to reasons ranging from child care expenses to self-employment.
“There’s a long way to go before the process is more inclusive and realistic about the potential jurors that end up being excluded by the process and the inadequate compensation for service,” he says.
How much do you get paid for jury duty in Canada?
Compensation for jurors varies across Canada's provinces and territories:
Alberta: $50 per day, plus some travel expenses and accommodation if required.
British Columbia: $20 per day for the first 10 days, $60 per day for the 11th to 49th days, and $100 per day for the 50th day until completion.
Manitoba: $80 per day.
New Brunswick: $20 for a half day (under four hours) and $40 for a full day for the first nine days. Starting on the 10th day onward, the rate is $40 for a half day and $80 for a full day.
Newfoundland and Labrador: Employers are required by law to continue paying their wages.
Northwest Territories: $80 per day.
Nova Scotia: $40 per day and 20 cents per kilometre travelled from their home to the courthouse for every day they serve on the jury.
Nunavut: $100 per day for the first five days, and $150 per day afterwards.
Ontario: No pay for the first 10 days, then $40 a day for days 11 to 49, then $100 per day until the trial ends.
Prince Edward Island: $25 for a half day.
Quebec: $103 per day for the first 57 days, and $160 per day afterwards.
Saskatchewan: $110 per day, plus some travel expenses and dependent care.
Yukon: $80 per day and up to $25 per day for travel expenses.
More Canadians volunteer, donate blood than serve on juries
Mark Farrant is the CEO and Founder of The Canadian Juries Commission, which advocates for better support of jurors. He says that low jury pay continues to be a barrier and is one of the drivers when it comes to Canadians' lack of willingness to serve on a jury.
“We’ve found only 19 per cent of Canadians are willing to serve on a jury, which is lower than donating blood and volunteering in the community,” he says.
There are also demographics of people who aren’t eligible for jury duty.
Trevor Farrow, Dean at Osgoode Hall law school, says this includes essential services, like practising doctors, firefighters, or people involved in the criminal justice system, like police officers and coroners, as well as lawyers, judges and elected members of government.
They’re not often prepared for the kinds of things they’re going to be watching, seeing and processing.
Jurors not prepared for trauma: experts
Farrow adds that it’s a relatively new initiative to recognize jurors are laypeople, who are not trained in the legal system, and as a result, some provinces provide some level of access to services for trauma and well-being.
“They’re not often prepared for the kinds of things they’re going to be watching, seeing and processing,” he says.
Farrant with the Canadian Juries Commission says he launched the commission after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression as a direct result of sitting as a juror during a harrowing criminal trial.
He says that Ontario, Saskatchewan and B.C. have all introduced provincially run post-trial support for jurors and the commission has recently piloted a peer support program in B.C., which offered jurors 45- to 60-minute Zoom sessions with a peer supporter. The pilot concluded at the end of August.
However, Farrant insists more needs to be done to raise awareness and understanding of what jury duty involves.
“It’s the last mandatory service left in our society but we do very little to support it,” he says.
It’s the last mandatory service left in our society but we do very little to support it.
Investigation finds juries in Toronto, Brampton, not representative of population
Canada's provinces and territories each have different rules for civil procedure and administrative processes for their courts, including jury selection and jury pay.
Provincial and territorial court systems often rely on information provided by public health agencies lists when selecting potential jurors. Until 2019, Ontario relied on the home ownership database to pool potential jurors. This tactic automatically excluded large swaths of the population — renters, long-term care residents, and those living on First Nation reserves, for example.
This skewed jury boxes to be predominantly white, according to an extensive investigation by the Toronto Star and Toronto Metropolitan University (then Ryerson) in 2018. The two-year review found that of the 632 jurors attending 52 criminal trials in Toronto and Brampton, 71 per cent were white. The findings proved to be a major imbalance for Toronto, where 55.7 per cent identify as visible minorities. In Brampton the percentage is 73 per cent.
Ontario has stopped using property ownership lists as a source of pooling jury calls, and now relies on the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) database.
