Defence lawyers end free legal service
Defence lawyers in Calgary and Edmonton announced Thursday they will no longer offer a free service helping low- income Albertans who have been denied legal aid coverage, saying it’s time for the government to increase funding to the program.
In a joint news release, the Criminal Defence Lawyers’ Association in Calgary and its Edmonton counterpart said volunteer lawyers have provided free representations to nearly 900 people denied legal aid coverage on how to apply for a court order forcing the government to pay for their legal representation — a process known as a Rowbotham application.
Although the former Progressive Conservative government agreed to cover the cost of legal representation for any successful applicants, the lawyers’ groups said the move was only a stop- gap measure and the hundreds of Rowbotham hearings are causing an unnecessary burden on the court system.
“We’ve been doing the work legal aid would normally be doing,” CDLA president Ian Savage said.
In the past year, Savage estimated the CDLA and the Criminal Trial Lawyers’ Association in Edmonton have brought forward approximately 500 formal Rowbotham applications on behalf of people who sought their advice.
The lawyers’ groups said they will cease providing free assistance to Rowbotham applicants on Nov. 1 and called on the government to increase funding to Legal Aid Alberta, the provincial society mandated to provide subsidized legal assistance to low- income Albertans.
“It’s not covering the working poor. We estimate the ( 900) people we saw is a fraction of the actual number of people out there who needed legal aid but gave up when they were denied coverage,” said Savage.
Funding for Legal Aid Alberta was a frequent flashpoint between the former PC government and the legal profession, especially since a precipitous decline in investment income from the arm’s- length Alberta Law Foundation that used to cover a much larger portion of the program’s operating expenses has left it increasingly dependant on government dollars.
Premier Rachel Notley consistently called for increased legal aid funding while in opposition, but the NDP government hasn’t made its position known prior to handing down its first budget later this month.
The government is undertaking a broader review of the province’s legal aid model, but Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said Thursday it’s working with Legal Aid Alberta to come up with some interim measures before defence lawyers stop providing free Rowbotham services on Nov. 1.
“We’re hoping to have something to come into place by then,” Ganley said. “Using the courts as an appeal system for being denied legal aid isn’t efficient for anyone.”
The legal aid plan’s total budget of $ 58.8 million had been unchanged since 2011, but then- justice minister Jonathan Denis announced an interim, $ 5.5- million boost to the program last fall. The injection was intended to restore coverage to recipients of Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped ( AISH) whose eligibility had been cut due to a funding shortfall for the program.
The PCs’ proposed budget, which didn’t pass before the election, had hiked legal aid funding to $ 66 million.
There has also been pressure on the federal government to increase the legal aid funding it gives to the provinces. Ottawa currently puts $ 11 million toward the money the provincial government contributes to Legal Aid Alberta. That amount has been unchanged since 2005, when 785,000 fewer people lived in the province.
Savage said the program needs at least $ 70 million a year to address the current gap in coverage.
We’ve been doing the work legal aid would normally be doing.