Printer friendly

BY FACSIMILE AND REGULAR MAIL
February 21, 2002

The Honourable Gordon Campbell, MLA
Premier of B.C.
Room 156, Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC
V8V 1X4

The Honourable Geoff Plant, MLA
Attorney General of B.C.
Room 234, Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC
V8V 1X4

Dear Premier Campbell and Minister Plant,

I am writing on behalf of the more than 37,000 jurists across Canada who are members of the Canadian Bar Association, to urge you to reverse your decision to slash legal aid funding and close courthouses in British Columbia. This 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.

Our members see firsthand the grievous hardship that results from inadequate legal aid. 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. Your proposed cuts of 40% will eliminate any chance they have of seeking their legal entitlements. The impact is not on abstract individuals pursuing trivial legal claims, but rather mothers trying to protect and care for their children and seniors trying to hold on to their housing or pension benefits. You have publicly acknowledged that cuts to legal aid will, in fact, hit exactly those populations the hardest. Surely this is intolerable to all caring Canadians.

Your related decision to close twenty-four courthouses will have similarly harsh repercussions for already vulnerable people. Shutting down courthouses in remote northern and interior communities will force people to travel to more distant locations at every stage of a court proceeding. This will add considerably to the burden and cost of seeking a judicial determination of any matter. This week, the CBA National Council unanimously passed the attached resolution, calling for a reversal of these decisions.

I urge you to make an immediate commitment to a properly funded legal aid plan, to at least the level of income generated by the tax on legal services and federal transfer payments. I urge you to review your decision to close courthouses, keeping in mind geographic and financial realities and the importance of equal access to justice for all. Finally, in consultation with the B.C. Branch of the CBA and other stakeholders, I urge you 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.

My colleague Carman Overholt, President of the B.C. Branch of the CBA, is most willing to work with you to achieve these guarantees of equitable access to justice.

Yours very truly,

Eric Rice, Q.C.
Encl.
cc. Carman Overholt - President, B.C. Branch