B.C. lawyers defending children, families deserve better

FMA pay should be election issue, says Scott McCannell.

As British Columbians consider who to vote for in Saturday's provincial election, I suspect many would be surprised to learn that successive B.C. provincial governments have ignored lawyers fighting for some of the province's most vulnerable children and their single parents.

Family Maintenance Agency (FMA) staff lawyers make sure the most at-risk children and families in B.C. get paid the child support money they're owed. They take on the most challenging child support cases, where a parent has the financial capacity to provide for their family but chooses not to.

Although these 12 FMA lawyers are fighting for justice, they make only a fraction of what other public sector lawyers are paid. Their wages are 20 per cent less than provincial legal aid lawyers and 50 per cent less than their counterparts in Crown Counsel and the Legal Service Branch. As voters consider their options, they should keep this in mind:

How can the next B.C. government expect to attract and retain qualified lawyers to provide these critical services with such large wage disparities?

Faced with a complex legal system, parents unwilling to shoulder their responsibilities, and the high cost of legal representation, FMA lawyers ensure every B.C. family has equal access to family justice, re gardless of their ability to pay. And the need is critical — the FMA annual report for 2018-2019 says that only one in three eligible B.C. families has been paid the child support they're owed.

For vulnerable children and parents being cheated out of child support payments, FMA lawyers can be the difference between having food, clothing and a bed or having to go without. Since 1988, their work has ensured $4.1 billion in support payments for 140,000 vulnerable children and families who otherwise would

Take a stand for children who are being cheated out of support payments.

have been denied the support they deserve.

The challenges are extraordinary. Often these lawyers are fighting for family support payments from people who have chosen to engage in the underground economy in order to avoid their obligation to support their children. Personal safety is also an issue. As the face of the Family Maintenance Agency in court proceedings, these lawyers often face self-represented litigants who are healing from difficult family circumstances and often dealing with mental health issues. Despite this risk, FMA lawyers continue to fight for B.C. families.

Vulnerable children and families who are owed child support payments deserve justice. That requires excellent lawyers with the tools and support to defend the legal interests of people who otherwise would be all on their own.

With the wage disparity so wide, political parties hoping to form the next government need to reckon with the message they want to send prospective FMA lawyers. Without government action, the message they send is clear: Fighting for children and families is not a priority. Don't bother considering a career advocating for family justice and serving those in need. You can make a much higher wage elsewhere.

It doesn't have to be this way. In this provincial election, political parties can send a different message. They can take a stand for children being cheated out of support payments by supporting the FMA lawyers who are fighting for family justice. It's time to move beyond the rigid one-size-fits-all, self-imposed formulas of the Public Sector Employers' Council mandate. It doesn't address the wage inequity, and it puts single parents and children at even more risk by pushing away the high-quality lawyers we need.

FMA lawyers and families who depend on them are looking for leadership. They are looking for the parties to send a clear, strong message that they will take action to protect the critical work they do for B.C. families and make sure it's sustainable over the long term.

Every day, FMA lawyers do their part to stand up for B.C. children and families. We hope whoever forms the next B.C. government will, too.