FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 8, 2002

The recently announced cuts to the justice system are of deep concern to every lawyer in this province. They were made without consultation with the lawyers or judges of BC, and their impact on the administration of justice is devastating to us all.

I write today to update you on the work of the CBABC in addressing this most urgent concern:

Throughout the late summer and early fall, we endeavored to ensure participation by lawyers in the Attorney General Ministry’s Core Services Review. We were told that this was an internal government process, and we were also specifically told this was not part of the budgeting process.

We invited Attorney General Plant to attend our September Provincial Council Meeting where we asked a number of questions regarding legal aid and expressed our concern that access to justice in the province be maintained.

We consulted with our Legal Aid Committee to obtain their thoughts as to how the CBA should address the question of continuing to pursue adequate funding for legal aid. We also met on a number of occasions with representatives of the Legal Services Society, to ensure open communication as the budgeting process began. We have maintained that open link, and are in regular contact with their Board Chair and staff.

On December 7, 2001, the CBABC brought together local and county bar presidents from across BC, the three Chief Justices, the Attorney General, and many of our partners in the justice system. Our concerns with rumoured cuts to courthouses and legal aid were communicated to the Attorney General, and the implications and realities of those cuts were made clear to him.

On January 10, 2002, I wrote to the Premier, to emphasize the importance of continued funding of courthouses, legal aid, crown counsel resources, and court services. On January 11, 2002, those priorities and our concerns about cuts were communicated to the public through a media release and subsequent interviews I gave to reporters throughout BC.

On January 16, I wrote to the Attorney General in response to reports of pending court closures, and followed up on this topic with media interviews in Victoria, Vancouver, Prince George and Kelowna. David Paul in Kamloops and Mayland McKimm, QC in Victoria spoke to local media as well.

On January 17, 2002 the government announced its planned cuts, and numerous media interviews followed.

On January 18, 2002 from 11:00 am until 12:30 pm, members of the Executive Committee and I, together with our Executive Director and Associate Executive Director, met with the Attorney General and his senior staff. At that meeting we received further information about the cuts, and communicated our strong concern about the impact of these cuts on the administration of justice in our province. In addition, we asked that the implementation of the service plan be postponed so we could be consulted.

Later that day, we issued a comprehensive media release to educate the public and politicians about the realities of the proposed cuts, in particular to the most vulnerable in our society. More media coverage followed.

Since the announcement, we have had the following emergency meetings: three of our Legal Aid Committee, two of our Court Services Committee, one of our Government Relations Committee, one of our Poverty Law Section, and three of our Executive Committee.

We met with LSS Board representatives on January 31, 2002, and will be meeting with other justice system partners, including local and county bar presidents and the judiciary, to ensure a coordinated strategy to engage the lawyers and judges of BC in addressing access to justice issues in BC.

Call to Action
We ask that each of you consider what you can do to ensure that access to justice is protected in BC. We ask that you communicate to your own MLA your concern about these cuts, and the need to involve the lawyers and judges of BC in decisions about the justice system.

On March 9, 2002, the CBABC Provincial Council will host a discussion on this topic at its regular meeting, and we ask that you contact your elected members in advance if you have information, ideas for action, or to provide input. A list of elected members is available in the Lawyers Directory, or online at www.bccba.org.

There is no question that access to justice, and the effective administration of justice, are both under attack. The CBA is your voice on these issues. Please take the time to let us know your views.

Respectfully,
Carman J Overholt
President, 2001/2002