FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 13, 2006
VANCOUVER – The Canadian Bar Association BC Branch (CBABC) is proud to join with the Attorney General of BC, Wally Oppal, in celebrating Multiculturalism Week in BC. In keeping with its mandate to promote the administration of justice, CBABC provides public education about the law in English, Punjabi and Chinese.

“One of Minister Oppal’s first public appearances in his new position as Attorney General was at the Canadian Bar Association Canadian Legal Conference in Vancouver, where he called on the legal profession to take up the challenge of ensuring our justice system is accessible and understood by those who come from other countries to make Canada their home,” said CBABC President Meg Shaw. “The CBA in BC is proud of our partnership with the Law Foundation of BC to ensure that basic, easy-to-understand information about BC law is available through our “Dial-A-Law program” in three languages online and on the phone, toll free from anywhere in BC.

Dial-A-Law (DAL) scripts are currently available in English, Chinese and Punjabi. In the last six months 12,872 callers have accessed DAL by telephone and 123,261 scripts have been viewed online.

The CBABC will hold its province-wide “Dial-A-Lawyer” program on April 22 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. when the public can call to discuss a legal problem with a lawyer for up to 15 minutes. The Dial-A-Lawyer numbers for English speaking lawyers are 604-687-4680 in the Lower Mainland, and toll-free in B.C. 1-800-663-1919. The numbers for Chinese speaking lawyers are 604-687-3404 in the Lower Mainland, and toll-free in B.C. 1-888-687-3404.

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About the Canadian Bar Association: The Canadian Bar Association is the professional organization responsible for representing the interests of lawyers, representing more than 33,000 members across Canada and more than 6,200 lawyers in British Columbia.

For further information: please contact:
Caroline Nevin
CBABC Associate Executive Director
Tel: 604.687.3404
cnevin@bccba.org