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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 21, 2002

OTTAWA — The Canadian Bar Association is urging the government of British Columbia to properly fund legal aid and to rethink its decision to close 24 courthouses across the province.

"The B.C. government's unprecedented course of action will dramatically erode the benefit and protection of the law for many B.C. residents, and destroy meaningful access to justice in the province, especially in civil law matters," said Eric Rice, Q.C. of Vancouver, National President of the CBA.

In a letter to Premier Gordon Campbell and Attorney General Geoff Plant signed by CBA President Eric Rice, the CBA called the B.C. government to task following announcements made last month that would see legal aid in that province cut by 40% over the next three years and courthouses closed, many in northern and interior communities.

"Our members see firsthand the grievous hardship that results from inadequate legal aid," said Mr. Rice. "British Columbia's legal aid plan already turns away many worthy recipients, especially women and children, immigrants and low income people facing threats to housing or income security."

The letter, based on a resolution passed unanimously by the CBA at its Mid-Winter Meeting of Council in Moncton, further urges the B.C. government to undertake a comprehensive review of the justice system "with a view to maintaining courthouses in local communities and determining where savings might be made to add funds to legal aid services."

The CBA resolution also criticized the B.C. government for backtracking on its commitment to dedicate money raised from a tax on legal services to legal aid. "Last year alone, some $91.6 million generated by the legal services tax has ended up in general revenues, not all in legal aid as promised."

The text of the resolution and the letter are available on the CBA's website, cba.org, or may be obtained from the CBA office in Ottawa.

The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.

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CONTACT: Hannah Bernstein, Canadian Bar Association, 500 - 865 Carling Ave. , Ottawa, ON, K1S 5S8 Tel: (613) 237-2925, ext. 146; E-mail: hannahb@cba.org