Legal Aid Alberta says it will not provide lawyers by next Tuesday as contract dispute with province continues
Legal Aid Alberta says it will stop providing lawyers to those who can’t afford them by next Tuesday over a funding and governance dispute with the province.
In a statement, Justice Minister Mickey Amery said the agency’s budget has almost doubled over the last nine years to $110-million, without an increase in the number of clients served. “The minister can review the funding, he can change it at any time, he can terminate it at any time, he can decide the government has overspent and require legal aid to pay back money that’s already been spent.”
“In many of these different contexts, the other side of the litigation is the government. It’s important that the lawyer that is appointed and the organization that’s paying that lawyer be independent of government. Justice and human rights advocate Chris Harrington said he supports Amery’s changes, saying the current legal aid model is bloated and siphons too much money away from front-line services. He suggested its lawyers are too quick to call for services such as psychological assessments and too eager to challenge government policy in court.
In its statement, Legal Aid Alberta said its lawyers will no longer be provided after Tuesday, including duty counsel – lawyers who represent those making their first court appearance.“People will languish in jail, cases will be delayed, so the courts will plug up again.”
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