Que. hires more prosecutors to ease workload

The Quebec government will spend $100 million to improve working conditions for the province's disgruntled and overworked Crown prosecutors.

Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier announced a series of measures on Tuesday which include a hiring blitz of 94 additional lawyers and 56 support staff.

The measures will cost $100 million over the next four years.

The move comes one month after the government forced its 1,500 striking prosecutors back to work.

Fournier said he hoped the measures would address a number of the prosecutors' concerns including reducing the amount of clerical work.

Meanwhile, Crown prosecutors are still planning a series of demonstrations outside some of the province's courthouses on Friday.

A contract imposed by the government in February gave the prosecutors a six-per-cent salary raise over five years, far short of the 40-per-cent wage hike the Quebec Crown Prosecutors Association had demanded.

Prior to the contract, Quebec government lawyers were paid less than their counterparts across Canada, with salaries topping out at $102,000 a year compared to $196,000 in Ontario.