Ottawa, November 5, 2025 – The Association of Justice Counsel (AJC), representing more than 3,500 federal lawyers and prosecutors, warns that the deep spending cuts announced in Budget 2025 risk undermining the very systems Canadians depend on to uphold fairness, accountability, and public safety.

While other public service unions have sounded the alarm about the scale of these reductions, the AJC underscores a specific consequence: when you cut justice, you cut the rule of law.

Under the government’s Comprehensive Expenditure Review, the Department of Justice and Public Prosecution Service of Canada are expected to reduce spending by 15 percent over three years—the same target as all departments, despite growing court backlogs, heavier case loads, and increasing complexity of legal work.

“These are not efficiency measures. They are the erosion of Canada’s legal foundation,” said Vivian Funk, Vice-President of Health and Safety at the AJC. “Justice is not a discretionary service—it’s the backbone of a functioning democracy.”

The AJC notes that while the budget creates an Early Retirement Incentive program for public servants, it risks accelerating the loss of experienced counsel at a time when mentorship and training capacity are already stretched. The cancellation of the LP-01 training initiative for new lawyers last year left a significant gap in succession planning that remains unresolved.

Meanwhile, the government’s unfulfilled election commitment to increase funding for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada—paired with a new emphasis on “AI efficiencies”—raises further concerns about whether the justice system will have the human and ethical capacity to manage complex, high-stakes prosecutions.

“You can’t automate fairness,” said Funk. “Responsible innovation in justice requires investment in people, training, and oversight—not blanket cuts.”

The AJC is calling on the federal government to:

  • Protect justice-sector capacity within the expenditure review;
  • Reinvest in critical training programs for federal lawyers; and
  • Engage with justice professionals on sustainable modernization that upholds fairness and public confidence.

“A budget is more than numbers—it’s a statement of priorities,” added Funk. “If this government values accountability and justice, it must invest in the people who uphold those principles every day.”

About the AJC

The Association of Justice Counsel (AJC) is the union defending Canada’s legal team. Our 3,500+ members are Federal Crown Counsel and articling students employed by the Government of Canada in the Department of Justice, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, and in various federal agencies, tribunals and courts across Canada.

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