Minister promises legal-aid boost

CALGARY — Justice Minister Jonathan Denis is pledging more funding for Alberta’s legal-aid program in next year’s budget, which would be the first increase from the provincial government since 2011.

Although he didn’t provide a dollar figure, Denis told Postmedia News on Wednesday there will be more provincial funding in 2015 for Legal Aid Alberta, the publicly funded agency that provides legal assistance to low-income Albertans.

The province had previously resisted calls to increase its grant to Legal Aid Alberta, saying the federal government isn’t paying its share.

Denis said he will continue to lobby Ottawa for more legal-aid funding — but in the meantime he will commit to increasing the provincial government’s contribution next year. The change of heart was prompted, in part, by Legal Aid Alberta’s decision to close five walk-in offices across the province and centralize operations in an Edmonton call centre — a move that will trim $4 million from its budget over the next three years.

“If Legal Aid Alberta is willing to make its operations more efficient and if the federal government isn’t willing to step up, we’re willing to look at what we can do in terms of finding some additional funding in next year’s budget,” Denis said.

The exact amount will be subject to the provincial government’s budgeting process, added Denis.

Legal Aid Alberta announced the office closures last week, saying they will result in 35 layoffs. The organization will be adding 16 positions to the Edmonton call centre.

The move is meant to reflect the fact about 90 per cent of Legal Aid Alberta’s clients now seek consultations via telephone, but the larger context is the organization is facing a $15-million deficit in three years without additional funding.