Greg Piper, Estevan’s new local Crown prosecutor, is excited to begin work in the Energy City. Originally based in the northwest of the province, in Meadow Lake, he is working here due to a Ministry of Justice initiative to open up a local prosecution office in Estevan.
“So far, it’s been good. There have been no real hitches or complications. The RCMP and EPS have been wonderful to work with, and very accommodating,” said Piper. “The community has been welcoming and a pleasant place.”
Piper received his law degree from the University of Victoria, and articled in the same city until 2014, when he began with the Ministry of Justice in Meadow Lake. He noted that although Estevan is a larger centre than Meadow Lake, he acted as Crown prosecutor for a significant chunk of the northern portion of the province, including La Loche,Île-à-la-Crosse
, and Buffalo Narrows, when working in Meadow Lake.
“The executive director wanted to have prosecutors based locally in Estevan, rather than having to travel to and from Regina,” said Piper. “I was asked, with another prosecutor if we’d be interested in coming down and opening up an office. It sounded like a great idea, and it’s been great so far.”
Piper said that being a local prosecutor will help provide a higher quality service in the Estevan provincial court. Things have been hectic for him starting out, because the other prosecutor who will also be working in Estevan is on maternity leave.
“It will be good to have the same face in court all the time. Not that there was anything wrong with how it was done before, but often, it would be a different prosecutors coming down, and we’d have some repetition and re-learning of the same info between new people.”
Piper noted that prosecutors driving from Regina to Estevan need to meet stringent time requirements, to get here for court, which starts at 9:30 a.m.
“You have to start at 6 or 7 a.m. if you want to travel down here, and if court finishes at 4, 5 or 6, which it can on a trial day, you’re driving back for another two hours,” he said. “That makes for a pretty long day.”
Estevan is the circuit point for a number of courts in the area, such as the towns of Carnduff and Carlyle. “Carnduff is a three hour drive from Regina, just even in terms of travel time, it will make things a lot easier,” said Piper.
The transition has been smooth for Piper, who is still working out of the Regina office, as arrangements are made for an office to be set up for himself and his fellow prosecutor in Estevan.
“We’re still receiving assistance from Regina for the Carlyle point and some of the other court appearances that need to be done, and some trials that were set in the past,” said Piper. “Between the setup and logistics associated with looking for an office, and reading up on new files, it’s been a challenge, but it’s been a welcome one and a good move.”
