The B.C. government has been quick to point to shortcomings in the federal justice system, in response to the horrific case of a Kelowna mother murdered in broad daylight, allegedly by an ex-partner who’d been sentenced and released for violent offences just hours prior.

But it turns out, as new details emerge, it is Attorney General Niki Sharma and the provincial justice system that are on the hot seat for the egregious failures in the case.

A new report by the Canadian Press found neither Crown prosecutor Catherine Rezansoff, nor defence lawyer Cory Armour, objected to Kelowna man James Plover being released from custody on July 4 after being convicted of choking and uttering threats involving an intimate partner (whose identity is protected under a publication ban).

And neither raised any concerns about potential safety risks Plover posed if freed, according to a courtroom recording the news agency reviewed. Instead, the two lawyers discussed how it would take up to 10 weeks to get a psychiatric report due to a backlog caused by a lack of provincial resources. Then, Plover, a former jail guard, was freed.

Fewer than three hours later, Plover’s estranged wife Bailey McCourt........

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