Filed under: News | Tags: boycott, lawyers, legal aid, low income, ontario
Biting the hand that feeds you
Equality before the law. A fair public hearing for accused persons. These are values that Canadians cherish, enshrine in their Constitution and, as a wealthy democracy, can afford to support with public dollars. But in maintaining a boycott of serious criminal cases funded by legal aid in spite of a significant new investment by the Ontario government, legal aid lawyers are upholding these principles at too high a cost.
The boycott began in June to protest the low pay provided to lawyers who represent low-income criminal defendants and civil-case claimants. Last week, the Ontario government provided a 5 per-cent-a-year funding increase to legal aid for four years, likely the largest increase in the history of the program. But it is not enough for the lawyers, whose hourly rate under legal aid (currently $78 to $97) has not kept pace with inflation, increased complexity of cases, the cost of running a practice, or pay increases to judges and prosecutors. They have been forced to cut corners on cases or forgo them altogether, a situation confirmed by several government-commissioned reports. Frank Addario, the president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, says that criminal-law articling positions have fallen by 80 per cent in the last 10 years.
Will a continued boycott wring more dollars from a cash-strapped government? Unlikely. Those who mind the public purse generally do not spring for a second tranche of cash after a poor reception for the first, while those to whom the purse-keepers are accountable are generally reluctant to fund groups perceived, rightly or wrongly, as undeserving. Meanwhile, those seen as the “deserving poor” make strong claims for increases in welfare payments, employment insurance benefits and access to pre-school programs. And as long as the boycott continues and grows, more people of lesser means accused of murder and offences under “guns and gangs” legislation will lack adequate representation.
Justice occupies a privileged place in our society, and for many, there is no price too high to pay for it. But its administration, like any other government program, conflicts with political priorities and scarce resources. The lawyers’ cause is laudable and ought to include outreach to the federal government, which has flatlined payments to the provinces for legal aid for years, and to the general public, which is insufficiently aware of the miscarriages of justice that accompany low pay for legal aid. In the meantime, the boycott should end. It is not worth making the perfect the enemy of the good.
Filed under: LSS, Media, News | Tags: cuts, globe and mail, government, lawyers, legal aid, legal services, ontario
From the Globe and Mail
The Ontario criminal defence bar intends to continue boycotting serious legal aid cases in spite of a $60-million infusion in annual funding by the province.
“It’s a step in the right direction, but it is an incomplete solution to the two-decade long erosion of access to justice,” Criminal Lawyers Association president Frank Addario said in an interview yesterday.
“We have seen this film before, and we know how it ends,” Mr. Addario said. “A crisis produces a series of small increases to legal aid funding, the crisis is abated, and the government then ignores legal aid for a half decade or a decade until another legal aid crisis erupts.”
Attorney-General Chris Bentley defended the addition to Legal Aid Ontario’s current annual budget of $288-million as being a remarkable achievement in tough economic times.
“I think it’s a very strong signal that we are going to stand up for the most vulnerable Ontarians,” Mr. Bentley said in an interview. “This investment marks the largest investment in legal aid in its history.”
The move comes four months after experienced lawyers began boycotting serious cases and those involving “guns-and-gangs” legislation. The lawyers argue that compensation for legal aid work had risen by just 15 per cent since 1987, while the cost of living climbed 75 per cent.
“Portraying this as the largest funding increase in legal aid’s history obscures the critical issue – namely, what amount of funding is required to fix the crisis once and for all?” Mr. Addario said. “The Attorney-General’s announcement of only a 5-per-cent increase in funding to [Legal Aid Ontario] for four years falls far short of what is needed to fix the problem.”
Paul Calarco, a senior Toronto defence lawyer, predicted that the offer will harden the resolve of boycotting lawyers.
“I see Mr. Bentley’s offer as being an insult to the criminal bar,” Mr. Calarco said yesterday. “Bentley was a criminal lawyer. So was [Premier Dalton] McGuinty. Have they forgotten what it takes to run a criminal justice system? Or are they trying so hard to play to public sentiment that they don’t care?”
Mr. Bentley said that advisory groups will be set up to provide advice on how Legal Aid Ontario can best divide the new money between criminal, family, immigration and civil cases. He expressed a particular desire to help people resolve family law disputes through “collaborative and non-confrontational approaches.”
Mr. Bentley also endorsed a move to “block funding” for criminal cases – a method which allots set amounts to particular legal services, regardless of how much time they take to perform.
While Mr. Bentley was vague about contingency plans for any continued boycott, he hinted that legal aid administrators may have to assign staff lawyers to handle serious cases.
“Legal Aid has an obligation to ensure that people in very difficult and desperate circumstances who need legal representation have legal representation,” he said. “They will take the steps necessary to achieve that.”
Filed under: BCGEU, Press Releases | Tags: BCGEU, british columbia, british columbia government employees association, cuts, Legal Services Society, LSS
From the BCGEU website
BCGEU is expressing concern to the provincial government about the prospect of even more cuts to legal aid within the next year because of funding shortfalls.
Recent posts on Public Eye Online (www.publiceyeonline.com) have highlighted the further reduction in legal aid services that may have to be made if more funding isn’t secured. Public Eye reports that “poverty law programs that provide information and advice on everything from housing and income security issues to health and employment law” face elimination if funds aren’t found.
BCGEU President Darryl Walker says he’s concerned about the threat of added cuts that could have serious impacts on the thousands of British Columbians who rely on legal aid, and the 165 BCGEU members employed by the Legal Services Society.
The Legal Services Society-which provides legal aid programs for the Ministry of Attorney General-has already made deep cuts earlier this year. A significant increase in demand for legal aid services combined with lower than expected revenue from government and other sources forced the Society to slash their budget and staff by 16 per cent this past spring.
The Society eliminated 20 BCGEU positions and significantly reduced the services offered to British Columbia’s most needy. As part of this decrease the Society stopped funding the defence of minor crimes such as breach of probation or failure to appear, which disproportionately affects the poor.
Now, the Attorney-General’s ministry is facing a legal challenge from Vancouver lawyer Phil Rankin. Rankin claims the failure to provide representation for marginalized offenders is an abuse of process that is actually costing B.C. taxpayers more and is clogging up the courts.
