Free legal clinic opens in Sydney
New initiatives aim to improve access to courts
Chief Justice Michael MacDonald said two special initiatives should help residents gain a better understanding and appreciation of the court process and offer a chance to voice concerns about dealings with the justice system.
The first project will be launched Friday in Sydney with the opening of the province’s second free legal clinic. The first opened in Halifax in 2015.
In an interview Wednesday with the Cape Breton Post, MacDonald said eight island lawyers are offering their services free of charge along with students from Cape Breton University who will assist individuals with filling out necessary forms and applications.
“Everybody wins in this,” said MacDonald, a native of Whitney Pier, adding the Halifax clinic has produced encouraging results and the same is expected in Sydney.
MacDonald said the individual benefits from such a service in becoming better prepared and informed about the rules governing civil matters which also benefits the court and the opposing counsel.
The one-day a week clinic will operate from the Sydney Justice Centre on Charlotte Street and appointments can be arranged by calling 902563-3550.
The clinic will not offer service on criminal or child protection matters as these services already offered in other forms.
The second initiative is a program believed to be unique to Nova Scotia — #TalkJustice.
Announced only last week, some 65 provincial residents have already availed themselves of the service that details an individual’s dealing with the justice system.
“Too many people still view our legal system as unfamiliar and intimidating,” said MacDonald, adding the new online tool will better able participants to voice their concerns and justice officials to resolve problems within the system.
The program allows individuals to tell their story about their dealings with the system in their own words while a special software program will present that information in a matter that reveals patterns and relationships.
Provincial residents can access the service at www. talkjustice.ca and there is also a free app. Paper copies of the questionnaire are available by calling 902-422-1491 (Janet Willwerth) or by email at jwillwreth@nsbs.org.
MacDonald said the service is important because it offers a first person account of what an individual experienced during their contact with the system.
In addition to the clinic and the #TalkJustice services, MacDonald said another online tool introduces users to the process and procedures in the Court of Appeal.
Such services flow from a 2013 report from a Supreme Court of Canada committee chaired by Justice Thomas Cromwell, now retired, of Nova Scotia.
Among its findings and 30 recommendations, the report issued a call to everyone associated with the justice system to play a greater role in promoting consensual dispute resolution and educating the public.
The report said that information sessions should be mandatory for self-represented litigants and all parents with dependent children before parties can appear in court.
“As the chief justice for the province, the judiciary wants to be part of the solution,” said MacDonald, in explaining why certain initiatives have been undertaken.
Such a goal has resulted in the formation of the Nova Scotia Access to Justice Coordinating Committee that is committed to making Nova Scotia’s family, civil, and criminal courts more efficient and effective, less costly and easier to navigate for all concerned.
The committee is cochaired by MacDonald and the provincial justice minister with representatives from the barristers’ society, legal aid commission, the Schulich School of Law and the Canadian Bar Association – Nova Scotia Branch.