Renewing Our Commitment to Legal Aid |
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Legal Aid in Ontario25
Paper written by Eugene Kung, Barrister & Solicitor, Vancouver
Despite the same changes in transfers from the Federal government, the Province of Ontario managed, under Conservative Mike Harris, to develop what is undeniably the most enviable legal aid system in Canada.
Ontario boasts one of the best legal aid systems in Canada
In 1966, the Ontario government introduced the first statutory legal aid scheme in the world, consisting of a comprehensive plan to be delivered by the Bar and the provincial government.26
In the early 1990s, legal aid certificate funding in Ontario was capped, and funding for legal aid clinics was frozen. Over the next few years, certificate services dropped dramatically. Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) reports that in 1996-97, the 75 000 certificates issued represented less than one third of the number issued before the cap.
In 1997, law professor John McCamus led a review of Ontario’s legal aid program (“OLAP”). His report, titled A Blueprint for Publicly Funded Legal Services was released in September 1997. In Blueprint, McCamus recommended the creation of an independent body to govern OLAP and experimentation with service delivery models such as the use of staff lawyers, contracting and wider use of duty counsel, with more focus on serving client needs.
In response to the McCamus report, the Harris government introduced The Legal Aid Services Act, 1998 (LASA), to create an independent agency called Legal Aid Ontario (LAO).
A new Chair and board of directors was named to govern LAO, and after extensive consultation with stakeholders, client groups and the legal profession, the board developed a four-year strategic plan. The plan outlined LAO’s vision statement, values and strategic directions for the organization as well as performance measures. LAO’s mandate as outlined in the Act is “to promote access to justice throughout Ontario for low-income individuals by means of providing consistently high quality legal aid services in a cost-effective and efficient manner.”
Today LAO is the second largest justice agency in Ontario. It is also one of the largest providers of legal services in North America covering a range of legal aid services such as criminal, family, mental health, aboriginal law, clinic law, and refugee law. LAO has 51 legal aid offices and 80 community legal clinics. Its annual budget of around $310 million (2006) is funded primarily by the provincial government, but also by the federal government and law foundation.
Many important lessons can be learned from the Ontario experience. A comprehensive public review of a legal aid system is an important first step.
Notes from this page:
25 From: About Legal Aid Ontario: Historical Overview LAO website
26 CBA Report of Proceedings, 1966, p.136 as cited in Hoehne, supra p.59, n.110. |
