Groups press for reform of justice system

VANCOUVER — A coalition of legal-advocacy groups in British Columbia is pushing to make sure justice reform is top of mind as the NDP government heads into its first legislative session next month.

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association, Pivot Legal Society, West Coast LEAF and the Community Legal Assistance Society banded together Wednesday to call for sweeping changes to the province’s justice system.

Recommendations include abolishing solitary confinement, protecting tenants from unfair rent hikes, and stopping the arrest of harm-reduction workers or people in possession of small amounts of drugs.

“We felt that it was important to come together as diverse organizations doing different work in the justice sector to remind the B.C. government and the public of these priorities,” said Josh Paterson, head of the civil liberties association.

“The government has a lot of work ahead of it, in a lot of different fields, and we need to make sure that the justice sector is not forgotten.”

The B.C. New Democrats will present a throne speech on Sept. 8 that lays out their priorities for the legislative session, expected to run until the end of November.

It will mark the New Democrats’ first session as government since they last held office in the province 16 years ago.

Kasari Govender, executive director of West Coast LEAF, said restoring public funding for legal aid is the most pressing concern for the advocacy coalition.

“We can have the most progressive laws on the books, but all of that is meaningless unless we have access,” she said.

Other recommendation include addressing the overrepresentation of Indigenous men and women in provincial jails, bolstering independent bodies that investigate police misconduct and reform of the province’s access-to-information laws.