Michael Armstrong, Associate Professor of Operations Research in Brock’s Goodman School of Business, wrote a piece recently published in The Conversation about pay rates offered to jury duty participants.

Armstrong writes:

A House of Commons committee recommended this week that provinces increase their jury pay rates to at least $120 per day. The committee report further suggests provinces cover jurors’ expenses, including transportation and meals. That works out to $15 per hour plus expenses, assuming eight-hour days.

Not coincidentally, that’s what Alberta’s minimum wage will become on Oct. 1. The provincial labour minister, Christina May, justified the increase by stating “this is exactly the time for a fair wage.”

A similar increase is under way in Ontario. Liberal Kathleen Wynne, now running for re-election, has said “we need to make certain that our workers are treated fairly.”

So if these provincial governments are serious about fairness, they should implement the federal recommendations. They need to start paying jurors at least the minimum wage for trial participation.

Suppose you are one of the thousands of Canadians summoned to courthouses each year for possible jury selection. In most provinces, your employer is obliged to release you, but isn’t obliged to pay you while you’re missing work.

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