Nearly $300,000 has been spent by B.C. taxpayers over the last five months to transport inmates by air for court appearances in rural and remote regions of the province.Figures released by the Ministry of Attorney General to CBC News show the B.C. Sheriff Service has arranged 31 charter flights since December 2025 to move accused individuals between correctional facilities and courthouses.The expense has faced criticism from some Crown prosecutors, defence lawyers, and the Official Opposition. A director with the BC's Crown Council Association, Andrew Duncan, says when it's difficult to get accused who are in custody to trial in rural communities, justice may not always be served.."That's a staggering amount of money that could go towards other things, like hiring more sheriffs, hiring community corrections workers, hiring additional prosecutors that we say are desperately needed," Duncan said to the CBC."If we spend a million dollars or $1.2 million on Con Air kind of flights in a year, that's four-plus prosecutors we could hire."B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes warned in a notice posted to the court's website that the situation is no longer tenable, since in some cases charter flights are not available..Holmes said the situation could force some criminal trials in rural and remote communities to be postponed, relocated, or, in some cases, result in suspects being released from custody.Concerns about potential court delays arise from the limited number of correctional centres serving British Columbia’s Interior and northern regions, with facilities located only in Kamloops and Prince George. Under the RCMP’s policy changes, accused individuals may be required to travel hundreds of kilometres between those centres and smaller courthouses in communities including Williams Lake, Terrace, and Fort St. John.Communities that could experience court delays include Cranbrook, Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Nelson, Powell River, Prince Rupert, Revelstoke, Rossland, Smithers, Terrace, and Williams Lake.
