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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 5, 2001

CLASS ACT BACKFIRES IN FIFTH LEGAL AID "HORROR STORY"
OTTAWA-- "Richard" and his wife split up, but they at least agreed on custody and access arrangements for their son. What's more, Richard was a class act, and volunteered to pay child support for his little boy, rather than force his ex-wife to take him into court for it. But his decision to take the high road came back to haunt him.

The ex-spouses now disagree strongly over custody and access, and the whole matter has gone to court. But even though Richard makes very little money -- barely over $13,000 a year working part-time in a garage -- that's still too much for him to qualify for legal aid in British Columbia. As far as the government's concerned, $1,100 a month is too rich for legal aid.

What's worse, Richard would have qualified for legal aid had he been paying child support pursuant to a court order. But because he voluntarily paid the support, the deduction doesn't apply and he doesn't qualify.

This true story is the fifth released by the Canadian Bar Association in its continuing drive to bring legal aid "horror stories" to the attention of governments, media and the public. Stories keep arriving, from lawyers all across Canada, highlighting all the ways in which our underfunded legal aid system doesn't help, and often hurts.

"These types of stories just never seem to stop coming in," says Daphne Dumont, Q.C., of Charlottetown, President of the CBA and legal aid activist. "We can assure the government that we're not going to stop reporting these stories until the system is well-funded, fair and accessible to those who need it."

The CBA's Legal Aid Watch, launched in August 2000, is a grassroots network of lawyers across the country concerned about the state of legal aid funding and its impact on Canadians. They monitor the administration of legal aid in their own communities and file e-mail reports of stories like Richard's to the CBA, which in turn circulates these stories to media and legislators at both the provincial and federal level. Past horror stories can be accessed through the CBA website.

The full text of "Richard's" story is attached.
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CONTACT:Hannah Bernstein, Canadian Bar Association, 500 - 865 Carling Ave. , Ottawa, ON, K1S 5S8; Tel.: (613) 237-2925; E-mail: hannahb@cba.org