For Immediate Release
June 20, 2005
VANCOUVER – The Canadian Bar Association has officially launched a “ground-breaking” test case to establish a constitutional right to civil legal aid in British Columbia. A statement of claim was filed in the B.C. Supreme Court this morning.
“The CBA has opted to pursue the litigation route out of a sense of profound frustration with cuts to legal aid that have resulted in a vacuum in access to justice for the poor in this province,” says CBA President Susan McGrath of Iroquois Falls, Ont.
“While the courts are frequently asked to consider the right to legal counsel in individual cases, we believe this is the first systemic challenge to a legal aid program in Canada,” adds Ms. McGrath.
The CBA plans to pursue this case as a full trial, relying on novel legal arguments that shift away from the current narrow focus in existing legal aid jurisprudence on the right to a fair hearing, or an injustice in one individual’s case, toward a broader right to equal access to justice for poor people. The Association will bring forward convincing evidence regarding the deficiencies of the legal aid program in B.C. and demonstrate its unconstitutionality.
“We believe that the time has come to establish a constitutional right to civil legal aid in this country,” says Ms. McGrath. “Without legal aid, access to justice is meaningless, as many people cannot take advantage of their legal rights.”
The CBA legal team is headed by J.J. Camp, of the Vancouver law firm Camp Fiorante Matthews, and includes Sharon Matthews, also of Camp Fiorante Matthews, Melina Buckley, Ph.D., and Gwen Brodsky, Ph.D., also of Vancouver.
The CBA has called for improvements to legal aid for the past decade, specifically for a federal transfer earmarked for civil legal aid and linked to the amount actually spent by a province or territory, and minimum national standards for services. This would replace the current system, whereby the federal government makes a global transfer for several social services to the provinces and territories, which individually decide how much, if anything, is spent on civil legal aid. The B.C. government pushed the system to the limit in 2002 when it virtually eviscerated civil legal aid in that province.
"Legal aid is in crisis. This test case is vitally important to poor people. It would be impossible for a poor person to bring this case on his or her own. We are extremely pleased that the CBA is taking this case forward," says Paulette Halupa, President of the National Anti-Poverty Organization (NAPO).
A news conference is scheduled for Monday, June 20, at 10:00 a.m. PT in Room C485, UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson St., Vancouver in which Susan McGrath, President of the Canadian Bar Association will explain details of the test case, introduce the legal team, and answer questions from the media.
More Information:
The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 34,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.
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CONTACT: Hannah Bernstein, Canadian Bar Association, Tel: (613) 237-2925, ext. 146; E-mail: hannahb@cba.org.
