Legal aid in financial crisis: lawyers
Last Updated: Tuesday, February 9, 2010 | 1:18 PM MT
CBC News
A prominent group of lawyers says legal aid in Alberta is in deep financial trouble, facing a $20 million shortfall over the next two years.
Legal aid provides services to people who can't afford a lawyer. It's funded by the Alberta government and lawyers' trust funds, and with the recession, the income from those funds has dropped significantly, said Deborah Hatch, president of the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association in Alberta.
"It's going to mean many, many more trials, unrepresented accused running their own trials," Hatch told CBC News. "It's going to slow things down, and the entire system is going to suffer as a result."
The association is calling on the province to add to its support for legal aid, which is among the lowest in the country, Hatch said.
"Aside from the moral issues here, this is not cost-effective to do this, because to have thousands of unrepresented people running trials in the court system is not a benefit to anyone and adds costs down the road as well."
It's the worst financial crisis for legal aid since the 1970s, when the service was set up, Hatch said.
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