| Latest News Stories
Love is not enough bike tour
June 29, 2010
 On August 16th, Jennifer Fisk is leaving Victoria on a cross country cycle tour across Canada to raise money for the Access to Justice Fund.
By doing this, Jennifer is hoping to:
- to raise $100,000 for the fund
- finish the 7,200km journey alive
- collect 15,000 signatures for reform to our legal aid system
- to inspire others to get involved
- to prove sometimes Love can be enough
Jennifer's inspiration for this tour is quite amazing, and her pursuit is heartwarming.
To volunteer, donate, find out more about her, or get involved with her cause, we invite you to check out her official campaign website at loveisnotenoughtour.com
B.C. coalition launches legal aid commission
June 28, 2010
Concerns over cuts to legal aid services in B.C. have prompted a coalition of justice groups to launch a public examination of the system.
The Public Commission on Legal Aid will visit 10 B.C. communities this fall to gather input from British Columbians in order to make recommendations to the provincial government.
The commission is a joint project of several groups, including the Law Society of B.C., the Vancouver Bar Association and the Canadian Bar Association's B.C. branch.
Stephen McPhee, vice president of the B.C. branch of the Canadian Bar Association, said the commission is long overdue.
"We believe that access to justice and legal aid is as essential a service as health care and education and it's time British Columbians become educated about their justice system," he said.
Last year, the B.C. Legal Services Society announced that a funding shortage would result in the closure of five regional offices throughout the province.
...click here to read the full story
News story: Legal aid reform to be held in B.C.
June 24, 2010
Six B.C. law societies including the provincial branch of the Canadian Bar Association, the Crown Counsel Association and the Vancouver Bar Association have announced a round of legal aid reform hearings to be held around the province this fall.
Beginning in September, the hearings will focus on changing the way the province provides free legal counsel to better suit those who need court representation but cannot afford it.
...click here to read the full story
News story: Lawyers protest as offices shut
April 4, 2010
Kamloops lawyer Brenda Muliner calls it “1-800-WHO-CARES.”
“If you phone that number and you’re from Kamloops, it says go to the legal-aid office — and gives you the address that is now closed,” says Muliner.
Last Friday, six legal-aid offices in Kamloops, Kelowna, Prince George, Victoria, Nanaimo and Surrey shut. Just two offices remain — in Vancouver and Terrace.
Muliner blames Victoria and its “total lack of commitment to funding.”
Total funding — government and private — for legal aid was $77.8 million last fiscal year, compared with $101 million in 2001/02.
To protest the cuts, she’s among a group of defence lawyers in Kamloops who are on a “duty counsel strike.”
The closures come as the civil-advice program, LawLINE, which handled 6,200 calls last year, was also scrapped. The line was funded by non-government sources.
Both cuts come as demand for legal aid is rising and the impact is being felt by thousands of B.C.’s most vulnerable, says Leonard Krog, NDP critic for the attorney-general’s ministry. He says cuts are eroding public access to justice...
...click here to read the full story
|
