New provincial court judge hoped to ease Nanaimo courthouse pressures

Spier has been repeatedly honoured throughout her career, including the King Charles III Coronation Medal earlier this year, and an excellence in mediation award in 2022.

Her appointment comes after a new report showed the Nanaimo provincial courthouse was leading B.C. in several categories linked to delays and processing times.

The semi-annual look at courthouses in B.C. shows Nanaimo currently experiences the longest delays for cases to proceed to trial for criminal, family and small claims issues.

Nanaimo had the longest trial wait times in 11 of 12 monitored categories, according to the report, between October 2024 and March 2025.

Wait times of between eight to 12 months were reported in many cases, well above the provincial standard and average.

Responding to questions from NanaimoNewsNOW, the Ministry of Attorney General stated it is “aware of the pressures in Nanaimo” attributing TO court delays, in part, to the transition period of a new judge joining the provincial court ranks locally in March 2024 to fill a vacancy.

“This vacancy meant that, for a period of time, there was one fewer sitting judge in Nanaimo. While it will take some time for the judge to complete the standard training period, their appointment is a step toward relieving delays in that courthouse,” the statement noted.

Provincial court judges are appointed through a review of interested candidates by the Judicial Council of B.C., with recommendations then forwarded to the Attorney General for consideration.

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by NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

New provincial court judge hoped to ease Nanaimo courthouse pressures

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