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Remarks for the launch of
The CBA Legal Aid Coalition
Sunday, Aug. 11, 2002
11:00 AM
London, Ontario

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming. My name is Daphne Dumont and I am the Past President of the Canadian Bar Association.

With me today are Phyllis Gordon, Executive Director of ARCH: A Legal Resource Centre for Persons with Disabilities in Toronto; Patricia MacDonald of the B.C. Public Interest Advocacy Centre in Vancouver; and David Matas of Winnipeg from the Canadian Council for Refugees.

We're here today to announce the launch of a Legal Aid Coalition, a team of nine organizations, including the three with me today, dedicated to help solve Canada's legal aid crisis.

The CBA has a long history of fighting for a better legal aid system, lobbying federal, provincial and territorial governments at every level for increased funding and broader coverage. Our most recent success occurred last year, when we convinced Ottawa to inject $20 million of new funding into legal aid. That was a good start, but none of it was directed towards civil legal aid where it is most desperately needed. We haven't reduced our pressure on governments one inch since then.

Il y a aussi notre Projet AJIR (Aide juridique: Intervention rapide) que nous avons lancé il y a deux ans. Depuis lors, nous avons publié huit récits édifiants sur l'aide juridique décrivant la façon dont la population canadienne souffre du sous-financement de l'aide juridique. Ces récits ont été distribués aux médias et aux députés à l'échelle provinciale, territoriale et fédérale.

Our new coalition partners have many similar concerns, and bring with them extensive experience with the grassroots impact of governments' neglect of legal aid. There are countless real life stories to tell of people who have been damaged by the lack of legal aid funding, regularly turned away from exercising their right to fair employment, adequate housing and many of their fundamental rights.

We've joined forces in this new Coalition to further increase our clout when lobbying governments, and more significantly, to look for appropriate legal aid test cases to bring before our courts.

Time and again, we have seen how cuts to civil legal aid target people who are already suffering from disadvantages, women and children in family law cases, and low-income Canadians (especially those from racial minorities) in poverty law disputes.

Poverty law deals with matters that threaten people's livelihood, health, or ability to feed, clothe and shelter themselves. It includes problems with public assistance programs, disability benefits, tenancy rights or employment.

L'ABC est foncièrement convaincue que toute personne au Canada a le droit fondamental de s'adresser à la justice. Mais sans les moyens financiers d'engager un conseiller juridique, les personnes démunies se voient nier un droit fondamental à la justice appartenant à tout un chacun dans une société démocratique comme la nôtre. Une injustice nourrie et ciblée de la sorte exige qu'on l'examine attentivement à la lumière de notre Charte des droits et libertés.

In February, the CBA released a detailed report called Making the Case: The Right to Publicly-Funded Legal Representation in Canada. Eight experts in the fields of constitutional law and access to justice agreed that there is an implied constitutional right to legal aid in certain circumstances, and that a case can be made to expand the right of all Canadians to the legal representation they need.

Yesterday, at our Council meeting, the CBA took another three steps in the fight for a better legal aid.

1. The CBA endorsed the Coalition which is before you today including nine organizations.
   
2. With Coalition partners we are taking our Legal Aid Watch to the grassroots
   
   
3. And third, with our partners, we are looking for a test case to determine the extent of a constitutional right to legal representation.
   

Today's press conference is the starting point for this new Coalition and our renewed efforts to make the justice system accessible for all Canadians.

I would now like to call on David Matas, of Winnipeg from the Canadian Council for Refugees.
David Matas speaks. Thank you, David.

Next, Phyllis Gordon, Executive Director of ARCH: A Legal Resource Centre for Persons with Disabilities in Toronto will describe what her organization does.
Phyllis Gordon speaks. Thank you, Phyllis.

And finally, Patricia MacDonald of the B.C. Public Interest Advocacy Centre in Vancouver will speak about her organization.
Patricia MacDonald speaks. Thank you, Pat. I now invite your questions.

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