Whereas legal aid is an essential service which provides the marginalized, vulnerable and poor with access to justice; And whereas legal aid has been chronically underfunded for over 25 years making it very difficult for the marginalized, vulnerable and poor to get legal assistance from a lawyer; And whereas many studies and reports, including those commissioned by Government, have noted the serious consequences for society by the continued chronic underfunding of legal aid; And whereas the Association of Legal Aid Lawyers have been attempting to negotiate appropriate levels of funding for legal aid; And whereas over 575 members of the Association of Legal Aid Lawyers voted overwhelmingly to withdraw services on April 1, 2019, to protest the intolerable levels of funding; And whereas the government and the Association of Legal Aid Lawyers have negotiated a interim funding plan to avert the withdrawal of services and allow time to continue to negotiate a permanent funding model: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM recognizes that legal aid is an essential public service that provides legal representation to the most vulnerable, marginalized and impoverished members of our city and that the chronic underfunding of legal aid has led to a serious inequality in the delivery of legal services in our communities; And be it further resolved that UBCM encourages the Province of British Columbia to resolve this matter with the Association of Legal Aid Lawyers and restore funding to Legal Aid.
Ministry of Attorney General Government has increased funding to the Legal Services Society LSS by 26 million over the fiscal plan 201819 202021, which is the most significant lift since 2002. With this additional funding, LSS has been able to expand the services it provides to include many new services including: - an expansion of the Parents Legal Centre network to over nine locations across the province; - an increase in the number of hours lawyers can spend on family cases; - support for Indigenous clients in both family law and child protection matters; - representation for extended family members in child protection cases; - an increase in the availability of criminal duty counsel; and - the introduction of the criminal early resolution contract which expands eligibility criteria to resolve criminal matters early and out of court where appropriate. With respect to negotiations with the Association of Legal Aid Lawyers, government reached an agreement with them and the Legal Services Society which was announced October 15th, 2019. This agreement will be in effect until March 31, 2022 and provides for: o Tariff increases over the term of the agreement; o The establishment of a permanent negotiating relationship; and, o A policy consultation process over the term of the agreement to identify improvements for the legal aid program.