ALAN FORSETH ... Nearly every story written, about Legal Aid, always shows it in a crisis due to a lack of funding ... WHY?
For many years now, BC's legal aid system appears to be suffering from a shortage of finances, that would allow it to do the job it has tasked with. That litany of financial shortages has been documented for many years, as this brief listing of news stories reports.
Attorney-general rejects claims that BC legal-aid is in crisis (March 8th, 2011)
Attorney-general Barry Penner has tossed cold water on a call for more
government funding for legal aid ... a hard-hitting report found (legal aid) was
failing to meet “even the most basic needs” of British Columbians.
... Mr. Doust recommended that the government should restore
$47-million to legal aid services in order to bring funds to where they were in
2002 ... the gap between legal aid needs and services has grown into a wide
chasm, resulting in human suffering and related social and economic costs borne
by our community ... ”
Former Attorney-General of the day, Penner challenged the claims of
Len Doust saying, "... I think legal aid works well for a significant
number of people that require it.”
Did
you catch that wording? Works well for a 'significant number of people. I don't
know about you, however I'd be more inclined to believe Doust who has,
according to the above mentioned Globe and Mail story detailed a ...
" ... litany of cutbacks to legal aid ... beginning in 2002, the
government reduced legal aid’s budget by close to 40 per cent over three years,
resulting in the closing of 45 branch offices ... offices were replaced by
seven regional centres, which have now been reduced to two... at the same time, poverty and family law services were eliminated.
“ ... our legal aid system is failing the people of British Columbia ... every day many people
struggle and fail to gain the necessary services to the justice system in order
to enforce or defend their rights and to benefit from protections guaranteed to
them by law.”
BC lawyers protest lack of legal aid funding (July 7th, 2014)
... we
have almost 95 per cent of people in our family courts unrepresented ... single
moms cannot get a lawyer. They are expected to go up against former spouses who
very often can afford to pay a lawyer ... roughly 40 per cent of people who are
accused of criminal offenses are forced to fend for themselves in court because
they can’t afford a lawyer.
... government currently provides $56 million a year for legal aid ... a tax on
lawyers’ fees was introduced in B.C. in the early 1990s ... revenue from the
tax (about $150 million last year) was always meant to go solely towards legal
aid ...
BC budget has new money for courts, none for legal aid (Feb 18th, 2015)
... despite a projected budget surplus of nearly $900 million, there is no new funding for legal aid services in the province
Mother says abduction case
highlights BC’s family legal aid shortcomings (September 26, 2016)
... to be eligible for legal aid
in family law cases ... the person must also meet a financial eligibility test
— a level that is essentially set at the poverty line ... very limited level of
assistance for people in emergencies ... of those who apply for legal aid, 75
per cent are women ... three out of five applications are refused.
Suzanne Anton, Attorney General and Minister of Justice (February 2017)
In a letter to the Vancouver Sun Suzanne Anton told all willing to listen that; ...
access to justice is my priority ... this includes $74.6
million in transfers to the Legal Services Society (LSS) for traditional legal
aid services ... our approach is working — more British Columbians have
access to justice and legal resources to help them resolve their disputes.
BUT WAIT
AS MINUTE ... back in 2014 there was $150 million that SHOULD HAVE gone into
Legal Aid -- and DIDN'T. And the same thing happened for years before that. Still Suzanne Anton (and I suspect Premier Christy Clark as well), was crowing just a month ago how access to
justice was her priority.
Why then has Legal Aid been short-changed, year after year, by this current government?
Funding problems for Legal Aid have resulted in those needing it being unable to access it. Nearly every
story written, about Legal Aid, always shows it in a crisis due to a lack of
funding ... WHY?
This
government continually adds taxes and fees for specific programs, and then in
nearly every case, dumps those revenues into a black hole called General
Revenue.
The black hole serves a purpose however for the BC Liberal government. It can be buried there until it is needed, and then doled out in glittering media events meant to garner praise for the government.
The black hole serves a purpose however for the BC Liberal government. It can be buried there until it is needed, and then doled out in glittering media events meant to garner praise for the government.
But does
the money needed get to Legal Aid? Not
so much. Where's the glitter there?
Here's
the bottom line:
- in 1992 a provincial sales tax was applied to legal services in BC ... the tax was in the amount of seven percent (7%)
- the government of the day did reference that the revenue from the tax would offset the escalating costs of legal aid
- in 2013 revenue from this tax was approximately $150 million dollars
According to Legal Feeds,
the BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association has issued a 27-page report entitled "An Agenda for Justice”.
The
report outlines the dire need for more resources to be allocated to BC's frayed
legal system. This would help in
assisting families in crisis, caught in the court system, without
access to legal representation ... for issues that threaten effective access to
justice including the lack of provincial funding for legal aid services
(services that are vital for British Columbians who cannot otherwise afford
legal assistance), along with court staffing and infrastructure ... and resources
committed to support out-of-court resolution, including more family justice
counsellors and government-paid mediators.
That's the short list of what an Agenda for Justice sees as requiring
immediate attention. An Executive Summary of the report
can be found by CLICKING HERE The BC Bar Association also hopes these issues can be raised during the May 9 provincial election campaign.
Wrapping
up this piece, let me bring to your attention Section 9 of the Legal Services
Society Act. It states that the
Societies mandate is to, " ... help
people to solve their legal problems, and to facilitate access to justice."
It seems
however, in story after story, that Legal Aid has been unable to provide that
key role of facilitating access to justice.
And what
appears to be the biggest obstacle? A lack of
funding ... due to a tax on legal services continually being misdirected by the
BC government.
I'm wondering if you think that's right ... so your thoughts and comments are welcome.
In Kamloops, I'm Alan
Forseth.
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