A months-long boycott of Ontario legal aid cases by criminal lawyers is undermining the justice system, critics say.

Members of the Criminal Lawyers' Association have boycotted Legal Aid Ontario since June because they say the agency isn't paying them enough to try large, complicated trials such as murder and guns-and-gangs cases. They have since refused to take on those complex cases.

It is important that the dispute over legal aid fees be resolved soon, said defence lawyer John Rosen.

"The justice system is in crisis and the average citizen in Ontario doesn't appreciate it. Obviously, the risk is that you are going to have a series of wrongful convictions," he told CBC News.

Michael Durant, who has been incarcerated at the Niagara Detention Centre for almost three years awaiting trial, says he is one of those suffering from the boycott. He was charged with the murder of two women who sold sex in the Niagara Region.

"I have looked all over hell's half-acre for a lawyer — I mean, I deserve a lawyer," he said. "I don't understand it."

'Walking me to gallows'

Durant, who maintains he is not guilty, said he can't find a lawyer experienced in murder trials who is willing to work for the legal aid rate. The only lawyer that Legal Aid Ontario would approve for Durant had no experience in murder cases.

Durant said he now fears he may not get a fair trial.

"It saddens me and I am probably not the only one in these shoes. They are doing their best to walk me to the gallows," said Durant.

One experienced Toronto lawyer, Michael Lacy, said he is willing to defend Durant at half his usual rate. But Legal Aid Ontario wasn't willing to pay Lacy, saying he still charged too much.

Frank Addario, president of the Criminal Lawyers' Association, said Thursday that while the protest has taken longer than hoped, he will keep the boycott going until the system is properly funded.

The Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted has joined the boycott, he said.

"AIDWYC's participation underlines the point that we have been making for several months now — that a properly funded system for defence counsel is an insurance policy against the train wrecks known as wrongful convictions," said Addario.

Funding boost inadequate: lawyers

Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley introduced a plan in September that would boost funding to the agency by $150 million over four years. The Ontario government is doing its best to deal with the situation, especially since the province faces a budget deficit of almost $25 billion, said Bentley.

But the Criminal Lawyers' Association has rejected Bentley's funding plan, saying it is too broad and doesn't offer real wage increases.

Ottawa criminal defence lawyer Norm Boxall told CBC News in August he had been declining legal aid cases for months. He said that even with his 30 years of experience, the province will only pay him $97 an hour.

A former Superior Court justice and the province's Crown attorneys have also joined the protest.

Legal Aid Ontario's annual budget stands at about $288 million but it expects to incur a deficit of almost $50 million next year.

With files from The Canadian Press