Canada’s chief justice Richard Wagner is sounding the alarm about a number of issues including court backlogs, high legal fees and vacancies that he says seriously impact the administration of justice.

“Some courts have had to operate with ongoing vacancy rates of 10-to-15 percent, some of them for many months if not years” said Wagner.

He also says the process that oversees the conduct of judges is not transparent enough.

His comments come just days after Russell Brown retired from the Supreme Court of Canada, ending a probe into allegations of misconduct against him.

Wagner says he The Prime Minister should appoint a replacement quickly.