I've been summoned for jury duty. The letter says the trial is expected to take 12 weeks. How much crime do you have to commit for the trial to take 12 weeks? Is this like a **** biker gang trial? Mass murderer? I'm guessing a 12 week trial must be something pretty big. I have to get out of this. I'm worried about what this might do to my employer and my employment situation. It's not like I'm working at Superstore-- we're a small business and we don't have a bunch of extra staff who can just come in and pick up what I do. 12 weeks might mean they have to hire a replacement for me and train them, which isn't a small burden for a company our size. This is stressing me out. This really sucks.
Yes, Jury duty sucks. While you are obligated to serve, it is worth pleading why it would be difficult in your situation. They sometimes offer a deferment if there is something that you have that conflicts (e.g. long planed prepaid vacation, wedding, etc.); but remember you will be called again. In your situation it appears there is a hardship that you and your employer will face that is beyond normal so it might be worth bringing that up. There are other ways people sometimes gets out of jury duty, but most of them are sleazy and the judge often can see through them if you are lying.
There are some people that are disqualified from serving by the nature of their employment (police officer, lawyer, trustee in bankruptcy, employee of the Ministry of Attorney General, etc.), or if they have been convicted of certain criminal offenses. Some people can get exemptions for medical reasons, if they are a full-time student, limited understanding of English (or French), etc. I am assuming none of these apply in your case.
If you just received your first letter, my guess is you have not been selected for a trial but are at the panel stage. Did the letter actually state trial? A jury panel is essentially a pool of potential jurors, and you must attend a few selection processes over the 12 weeks or whatever they stated. It is during these selection processes that your name may be drawn from a hat to be challenged by the crown or defense attorney. Most criminal trials do not last 12 weeks, typical is less than a week to maybe a couple of weeks.