Access to Justice

WHEREAS BC’s legal aid system was established in the 1970’s as a result of extensive public consultation which resulted in a broad mandate for the provision of legal services to low-income people and legal information for all;

AND WHEREAS legal aid is a vital component of a democratic system of government;

AND WHEREAS legal aid is an effective tool in assisting in the social integration of marginalized and vulnerable individuals as well as people with disabilities, new immigrants to our society, first nations people, women and others who may have difficulty accessing the justice system;

AND WHEREAS the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights criticized Canada in 2006 for failing to discharge its international human rights obligations because of inadequate access to civil legal aid;

AND WHEREAS the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women expressed specific concern in 2008 about the impact of cuts to legal aid on women in British Columbia, and urged governments to ensure that all women have access to adequate legal aid, particularly in areas of family and poverty law;

AND WHEREAS significant changes have been made to the legal aid system, specifically in 2002 and 2009, with the elimination of poverty law services in 2002 and the major reductions in family law and immigration law services that year and in 2009 and reductions in criminal law coverage in 2009 without any public consultation;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Provincial Government should act with all deliberate speed to hold public hearings with a view to renewing the commitment to the legal aid system in British Columbia.