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Our Cause
The Coalition for Public Legal Services came together when LSS announced their intention to scale back legal aid services in BC. Members represent community, legal, and other organizations alarmed by the deepening of the legal aid crisis each month seems to bring.
Previous legal aid cuts
Between 2002 and 2005 the BC government cut funding to the Legal Services Society – the provider of legal aid - by 40 percent, eliminated LSS independence and forced the replacement of 460 full time staff with 155 and 42 offices with 12. Minimal increases from 2005 to 2008 have not supported the demand, LSS sought and received pilot project funding from non-government funding sources, but those were tightened up in the face of the economic meltdown of 2008. A 16 percent budget reduction forced the Legal Services Society (LSS) to lay off more of their staff in April 2009 and announce further reductions in April 2010. This year, LSS closed 5 of the 7 remaining regional offices and severely reducing the services they provide:
- Family law: Family law services have largely been eliminated. Extended family services, which give lawyers extra time to complete difficult cases, have been reduced. Dispute resolution services, available to clients with significant family law problems but without safety concerns, have been entirely eliminated.
- Criminal law: Category One offences, such as breach of probation, petty theft and failure to appear, will no longer be covered for adults.
- Immigration and refugee law: Stricter merit screening was introduced, restricting how many people will be eligible for legal aid coverage.
Recent cuts
With the closure of 5 of the 6 regional offices in the Province,
all legal aid work (outside of the Terrace area) will be handled
out of the Downtown Vancouver headquarters
The cuts this year will further restrict access to justice for many British Columbians.
- Regional centres: In March, the legal aid system underwent even more drastic cuts to services and staff. Five of the remaining six regional centres closed their doors, along with the legal aid portion of the Justice Access Centre in Nanaimo. Only the Terrace office and the main office in Vancouver will stay open. After March, British Columbians in need of free legal aid in Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Prince George, Surrey, and Victoria will be required to find the ‘local agent’ or intake services for LSS in order simply to apply or enquire about legal aid. Otherwise, one must have access to a website for family law legal information.
- Civil law: March saw the elimination of all non-family civil legal aid advice services, including the LawLINE, which provided free legal advice to low-income British Columbians over the phone, and the Community Advocate Support Line, which provides free legal advice and support to advocacy groups.
- Staff: 58 more LSS employees lost their jobs in March.
The Legal Services Society currently has a banked surplus of about $10m, but the provincial government would not allow the society to dip into the fund to prevent these cuts.
What's left?
Instead of regional legal aid centres or the LawLINE, most British Columbians will only be able to access the legal aid system through the call-centre in Vancouver or through a "local agent" - lawyers that take on responsibility for legal aid in their area.
What are we doing?
CPLS is a group of organizations and individuals concerned with the flaws in BC's justice system and its accessibility. Through public forums, advocacy, and campaigns, the CPLS is promoting the value or legal aid and providing access to justice to those who need it most.
To find out more about our actions and joining the Coalition, we invite you to contact us.
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