Cutbacks to Legal Aid will clog Alberta courts, lawyers say
Appeal courts in Alberta could become jammed if the province doesn’t drastically increase the underfunded legal-aid system, says the Calgarybased Criminal Defence Lawyers Association.
“Judges of the court are obliged to give direction to those who are unrepresented,” CDLA vice-president Joan Blumer said at a news conference Tuesday. “What we have are judges in the court who are paid a quarter-million dollars a year, because they are meant to sit and listen and understand the law and apply it to serious legal questions. What we now have is the judges are going to be expected to lead unrepresented people through the court process, teach them the law as they go.
“That is going to lead to unimaginable delays of process, and we all know when there are unimaginable delays there are stays of proceedings entered. If the judges don’t see fit to assist unrepresented people, we’re going to end up with the very same people at the Court of Appeal. That is going to cause further delays as well. Ultimately, the entire cost of the entire lack of legal-aid funding cost is going to far exceed any costs that there would be to top up the legal-aid funding, not to mention the lack of justice in this province.”
The CDLA was responding to cutbacks and layoffs this week at Legal Aid Alberta, as well as the recent resignation of two directors from the organization’s volunteer board over concerns about underfunding.
CDLA president Ian Savage said Alberta Justice Minister and Solicitor General Jonathan Denis, who told reporters on Monday there would be no new funding to legal aid, “has his head in the sand” when it comes to the issue.
“If defence lawyers, who handle the bulk of legal-aid cases, don’t play ball and do a good job, out clients will suffer,” said Savage, who suggested there could be job action to press the issue. “There are no votes for the politically disadvantaged.”
Blumer said there is a lack of priority when the government allots $18 million to repair the Kananaskis golf course and another $15 million to redesign the licence plate for Alberta vehicles when justice is being undermined.
“How many Albertans even know about or care about the new licenceplate design or care if it happens,” Blumer said. “And I don’t think any legal-aid customers will be able to play golf anyway.”
Legal Aid Alberta, the publicly funded agency that provides legal assistance for low-income Albertans, announced this week it was ending walk-in consultations in several communities and cutting staff positions, including 16 in Calgary.
It said the moves were meant to reflect the fact more people are seeking consultations by telephone and will save $4 million over the next three years.
Offices in three communities, including Medicine Hat, closed this week, with centres in Peace River and St. Paul to follow next March.
Although 16 positions are being cut in Calgary, the office will remain open with five employees available to continue offering advice in person.
Legal Aid Alberta says the savings are vital considering the organization could face a deficit of $15 million by the end of 2016-17.
Its main source of funding is the provincial government, which is providing $58.8 million this year, though $10 million of the province’s contribution first came from the federal government.
Denis gave Legal Aid Alberta an additional $7 million last year, but it was a one-time grant due to a provincial budget surplus. Otherwise, the province’s contribution has been unchanged since 2011.
In addition to federal and provincial contributions, legal aid is funded by the Alberta Law Foundation.
The foundation’s grants, from interest payments on money held in trust by lawyers for their clients, have fallen drastically as record-low interest rates and the economic downturn hurt its investment income.
In 2009, the foundation contributed $14.9 million to legal aid. In 2010, it was $5.9 million and it fell to only $1.1 million in 2011.
In an effort to create more stable funding, the foundation signed an agreement in 2012 mandating a minimum annual grant of $5.5 million, but that commitment will be over by 2016.